Fees

Full details of the fees payable under the Insurance Laws (and other legislation administered by the Commission) appear in the Financial Services Commission (Fees) Regulations, 2022, Protected Cell Companies and Incorporated Cell Companies (Fees for Insurers) Regulations, 2022 and Protected Cell Companies and Incorporated Cell Companies (Fees payable to the Guernsey Financial Services Commission) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022, but for ease of reference a summary is shown in the table below.

Regulatory Fees with effect from 1 January 2023

APPLICATION FEES
Type ​Sub-type Fee
Insurance Manager1 £6,180
​​​Insurers

Life Insurer / Reinsurer (Category 1 / 2)

£6,640

Commercial Insurer / Reinsurer (Category 3 / 4)

£9,960

Captive Insurer / Reinsurer (Category 5)

£6,640

Category 6

£6,640

​​Protected Cell Company (PCC) Core

Not writing insurance business

£6,640

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£6,640

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£9,960

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£6,640

Category 6

£6,640

​Incorporated Cell Company (ICC) Core

Not writing insurance business

£6,640

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£6,640

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£9,960

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£6,640

Category 6

£6,640

Cell of a PCC

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£2,170

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£3,255

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£2,170

Category 6 - not SPI*

£2,170

Category 6 - SPI*

£1,000

​Cell of an ICC

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£2,170

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£3,255

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£2,170

Category 6 - not SPI*

£2,170

Category 6 - SPI*

£1,000

Domestic Insurer £3,740
Mutual, Friendly, or Provident Society £3,740
​Intermediary - base fee

£6,225

Additional Category of Intermediary Licence

General - Personal Lines

£220

General - Commercial

£430

Long Term - Life

£430

Long Term - Regular Premium

£660

Long Term - Single Premium (Insurance Element)2

£2,135

*SPI - Special Purpose Insurer as defined under The Insurance Business Rules 2021

ANNUAL FEES
Type Sub-type Fee
Insurance Manager

Dependent on the nature of the companies under management

 

Pure3

£5,865

Commercial

£9,820

Society of Lloyd's4

£3,400

Insurers

Commercial Insurer / Reinsurer (Category 3 / 4)

£9,960

Captive Insurer / Reinsurer (Category 5)

£6,640

Category 6

£6,640

Protected Cell Company (PCC) Core

Not writing insurance business

£6,640

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£6,640

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£9,960

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£6,640

Category 6

£6,640

Incorporated Cell Company (ICC) Core

Not writing insurance business

£6,640

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£6,640

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£9,960

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£6,640

Category 6

£6,640

Cell of a PCC

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£2,170

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£3,255

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£2,170

Category 6 - not SPI*

£2,170

Category 6 - SPI*

£1,000

Cell of an ICC

Life (Category 1 / 2)

£2,170

Commercial insurance / reinsurance business (Category 3 / 4)

£3,255

Captive insurance / reinsurance business (Category 5)

£2,170

Category 6 - not SPI*

£2,170

Category 6 - SPI*

£1,000

Transformer Cell See note5 £1,000
Dormant Cell £175
Life Insurer (PCC and non cellular) (Category 1 / 2)

Based on net policyholder liabilities6

 

Less than £1

£6,640

£1 - £999,999

£8,620

£1m - £9,999,999

£10,585

£10m - £99,999,999

£16,465

£100m - £499,999,999

£26,265

£500m - £1,999,999,999

£50,860

£2bn+

£99,715

Domestic

Based on gross premium income

 

£0 - £11,999

£555

£12,000 - £4,999,999

£3,740

£5m+

£19,075

Mutual, Provident, or Friendly Society

Non-commercial

£550

Commercial

£3,740

Intermediary - base fee

£3,020

+ Intermediary - category of Intermediary Licence

General - Personal Lines

£220

General - Commercial

£430

Long Term - Life

£430

Long Term - Regular Premium

£660

Long Term - Single Premium (insurance element)2

£2,135

Long Term - Single Premium (POI element)7

£1,320

+ Intermediary - turnover from Licensed Bailiwick activity

£0 - £249,999

£2,131

£250,000 - £499,999

£3,230

£500,000 - £749,000

£4,270

£750,000 - £999,999

£5,350

£1m - £1,999,999

£6,420

£2m - £2,999,999

£7,500

£3m+

£8,565

OTHER FEES

Conversion:

  • Non-cellular company PCC or ICC, or vice versa
  • Conversion from PCC to ICC including formation of first cell when business to be written in that cell is business previously written in the captive
  • Subsumption of incorporated cells and conversion to non-cellular company
  • PCC cell into a non-cellular company

Individual conversion rates as listed above. £1,255

Amalgamation and Migration Out. £2,635

Reactivation of a dormant cell:

Category Reactivation cost

Category 1 / 2

[£2,170 minus £175] pro-rata'd to the end of the year

Category 3 / 4

[£3,255 minus £175] pro-rata'd to the end of the year
Category 5 [£2,170 minus £175] pro-rata'd to the end of the year

Category 6 (not SPI)

[£2,170 minus £175] pro-rata'd to the end of the year

Application for consent to a scheme for the transfer of long term business. £6,230

Notification of change of controller. £2,370

Variation of activities in respect of which an insurer is licensed. £1,345

NOTES

All annual fees are due by 31st January each year for licences/ authorisations in effect on 1st January of that year.

Applicants will be invoiced for a pro-rata annual fee on licence issue in respect of the annual fee payable for the year in which the licence is granted.

  1. An application fee of £6,180 will be payable unless the applicant demonstrates to the Commission that he will act only for business underwritten by members of the Society of Lloyd's, then the fee will be £3,400.

  2. Fee payable in respect of the Insurance Licence.
  3. A fee of £9,820 will be due unless the insurance manager demonstrates to the Commission before the fee is due that each insurer for which he acts underwrites only the risks of the insurer's parent, subsidiaries of the insurer's parent, a joint venture where the risks underwritten by the insurer are limited to the equity interest held by the insurer's parent in that company or risks which are fully reinsured by the insured and the insurer's parent, where the parent is an insurance company, then the fee will be £5,865. A fee of £9,820 will be due unless the insurance manager demonstrates to the Commission before the fee is due that each insurer for which he acts is a mutual, provident or friendly society, then the fee will be £5,865

  4. A fee of £9,820 will be due unless the insurance manager demonstrates to the Commission before the fee is due that he acts only for business underwritten by members of the Society of Lloyd's: then the fee will be £3,400.
  5. For the avoidance of doubt, transformer cells are cells within a Protected Cell Company whose primary purpose is to enable transactions between the Capital and Insurance markets by converting contracts written on ISDA documentation into contracts written on traditional insurance documentation or vice versa.

  6. For a Life Insurer (PCC and non-cellular) closed to new business, the annual fees are:

    Based on net policyholder liabilities

    Fee

    Less than £1

    £6,640

    £1 - £9,999,999

    £8,610

    £10m - £499,999,999

    £11,850

    £500m+

    £16,465

  7. Fee payable where licensed under the POI Law for either or both of the restricted activities of promotion and advising, and no other restricted activities in respect of "Category 1: Collective Investment Schemes."

Administrative Financial Penalties

LATE FILING PENALTIES

Where a licensee files a relevant document (such as its annual return and accounts) after its specified deadline date, a late filing penalty may apply. This will be calculated using the table below. Each subsequent month (or part of a month) that the relevant fee has not been paid will result in a further incremental penalty accruing.

Late Filing Penalty Penalty Increments
First Month £125
Second Month £250
Third Month £375
Each Subsequent Month £375

The Commission may grant deadline extensions under extenuating circumstances. Where the Commission has done this that date will be taken as the revised deadline date for the purposes of calculating any late filing penalty.

LATE PAYMENT PENALTIES

Where a licensee pays its annual fee subsequent to its due date, a penalty may apply. For the annual fee levied each calendar year, the due date is 31 January. For pro-rated annual fees, this would be 30 days after the fee became payable. In both cases, the due date will be included on the invoice.

This will be calculated using the table below. Each subsequent month (or part of a month) that the relevant fee has not been paid will result in a further incremental penalty accruing.

Late Payment Penalty Penalty Increments
First Month £125
Second Month £250
Third Month £375
Each Subsequent Month £375
INACCURATE FILING PENALTIES

As consulted on in 2022, where a licensee has submitted a relevant document that is materially inaccurate a penalty will be calculated as per the table below.

Inaccurate Filing Penalty

Error Identified by Firm Error Identified by the Commission
On identification of the error and return of the submission for correction by the firm £125 £500
Each subsequent month taken to correct the error £125 £500

Inaccurate filing penalties only apply to data within returns considered necessary for the Commission to carry out its statutory functions (such as data around capital or liquidity requirements, or attestation around whether a firm has received an emphasis of matter or qualified audit opinion).

To ensure the regime is proportionate, inaccurate filing penalties only apply where the Commission has determined the error to be material. This will be considered on a case-by-case basis, which looks to ensure such penalties are not issued for small discrepancies, single errors, or where guidance is unclear.

In considering whether an error was materially inaccurate, the Commission will consider:

  • the quantum of the error and its implications for the licensee’s compliance with the minimum criteria for licensing,
  • the length of time taken to detect the error and correct it on the part of the licensee, and
  • the frequency with which a licensee submits incorrect information in returns.