Insurance consultant; application for a permit

If you wish to work as a self-employed insurance consultant, you need a permit from the relevant Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Description

You are an insurance consultant if you advise clients on insurance on a professional basis without receiving a commission from an insurance company or being dependent on it in any other way. As an insurance consultant, you may not accept any benefits from insurance companies in connection with your activities. You may not act simultaneously as an insurance agent or broker and as an insurance consultant.

In addition, you advise or represent persons out of court in the event of an insurance claim in the assertion of claims arising from insurance contracts.

Permission may be granted to a natural person or a legal entity. However, partnerships such as the Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts (GbR) or the Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG) cannot obtain the permit. Every managing partner requires the permit.

In addition to obtaining the permit, you must apply for entry in the intermediary register and obtain a register number. You can apply for entry in the register together with the permit. Before starting your business, you must register your trade.

The permit may be restricted in terms of content and may be subject to conditions if, in the opinion of the authority, this is necessary for the protection of the general public or the clients.

If you are an EU/EEA citizen, have a permit or a trade as an insurance advisor in another country and only wish to work temporarily in Germany, you do not need a permit in Germany. However, you must notify the authorities in your home country of your intended activity.

Prerequisites

  • The reliability required for the business operation, i.e. you have been convicted of a criminal offense in the last five years.
  • Orderly financial circumstances, i.e. you are not in private insolvency or entered in the debtors' register.
  • Professional liability insurance with a minimum coverage of 1,130,000.00 Euro for each insured event and 1,700,000.00 Euro for all insured events in one year in total.
  • Expertise

Procedure

In order to obtain a permit as an insurance advisor, you must submit a corresponding application together with the required documents to your competent Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK).

  • If necessary, it is also possible to submit an online application.
  • Together with the application for permission, you can already submit the application for entry in the register of intermediaries.
  • The IHK will check whether you meet the requirements on the basis of the information and documents you have submitted.
  • After examination you will receive the permit by mail
  • If necessary, an online application is also possible.

You may only commence your activity once the permit has been issued and you have been entered in the Register of Intermediaries. You must apply for entry in the register at the relevant Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Deadlines

The permit is valid for an unlimited period.

Processing time

Processing takes several weeks once all documents are complete.

Required documents

  • The following documents are required:

    • Copy of your valid identity card or passport
    • Police certificate of good conduct
    • Information from the central business register for submission to an authority (for legal entities and their legal representatives)
    • Information from the debtors' register of the central enforcement court (enforcement portal)
    • Information on entries in the insolvency register as well as a declaration by the competent local court as to whether insolvency proceedings have been opened
    • Proof of expert knowledge:
      • Certificate of passing an expert examination
      • Alternatively, a certificate of a profession recognised as a qualification (see further links)
    • Proof of the existence of professional liability insurance (certificate from an insurance company licensed in Germany for submission to the IHK) in the original and not older than three months.
    • Further documents may be required.

    In the case of partnerships (trading) companies, each managing partner must submit a completed application form and all documents.

Fees

  • Costs are incurred. The exact amount can be found in the fee schedule of the competent authority.

Legal bases

Remedy

Objection or administrative court action

Links to more information

Status:28.08.2023

Responsible for editing:Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag e.V.

  • Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
  • Online transactions, locally limited
  • Form, Bavaria-wide
  • Form, locally limited
  • Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, locally limited
  • Fees, Bavaria-wide
  • Fees, locally limited
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