General insurance companies are regulated by AFS licence

Q: Is general insurance a financial product?

further market-related advice means advice to which subsection 946B(1) applies. general advice has the meaning given by subsection 766B(4). general insurance product means a financial product described in paragraph 764A(1)(d).

Table of Contents Show

Related information
Do general insurance companies need an AFS licence?
Who are general insurance companies regulated by?
Who needs AFS license?
Is general insurance a financial product?

If you want to run a financial services business, you generally need to be authorised under an AFS licence.

An AFS licence authorises you and your representatives to provide financial services to clients.

You provide financial services if you:

provide financial product advice to clients for example, giving a recommendation to clients or the general public about which financial product they should purchase.
deal in a financial product for example, buying or selling shares on behalf of a client or issuing interests in a managed investment scheme.
make a market for a financial product for example, where you regularly quote prices at which people can buy or sell financial products.
operate a registered managed investment scheme. ASIC is also required to register managed investment schemes that are offered to retail clients.
provide a custodial or depository service for example, holding a financial product, or a beneficial interest in a financial product on trust for a client
provide traditional trustee company services for example, preparing estate management functions
provide a crowd funding service
provide a superannuation trustee service
provide a claims handling and settling service, or
operate the business and conduct the affairs of a corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV).

Financial products include things such as shares, bonds, superannuation, interests in managed investment schemes, life insurance, general insurance, derivatives and margin lending facilities.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be exempt from the requirement to hold an AFS licence or you may provide financial services under a limited AFS licence. You may also choose to provide financial services as an authorised representative of an AFS licensee.

Our regulatory guides and other regulatory resources on AFS licensing explain the terms 'financial product' and 'financial service' (as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 and the Corporations Regulations 2001) and any exemptions are explained in our regulatory guides and other regulatory resources on AFS licensing.

Regulatory guidance on AFS licensing
Applying for and managing an AFS licence
Giving advice
Limited AFS licences
Margin lending
Carbon markets
Crowd-sourced funding (CSF) intermediaries
Claims handling and settling services

If you want to run a financial services business, you generally need to be authorised under an AFS licence.

An AFS licence authorises you and your representatives to provide financial services to clients.

You provide financial services if you:

provide financial product advice to clients for example, giving a recommendation to clients or the general public about which financial product they should purchase
deal in a financial product for example, buying or selling shares on behalf of a client or issuing interests in a managed investment scheme
make a market for a financial product for example, where you regularly quote prices at which people can buy or sell financial products
operate a registered managed investment scheme. ASIC is also required to register managed investment schemes that are offered to retail clients
provide a custodial or depository service for example, holding a financial product, or a beneficial interest in a financial product on trust for a client
provide traditional trustee company services for example, preparing estate management functions
provide a crowd funding service
provide a superannuation trustee service, or
provide a claims handling and settling service.

Financial products include things such as shares, bonds, superannuation, interests in managed investment schemes, life insurance, general insurance, derivatives and margin lending facilities.

For more information, see:

Regulatory guidance on AFS licensing
Applying for and managing an AFS licence

Do general insurance companies need an AFS licence?

If you want to run a financial services business, you generally need to be authorised under an AFS licence. An AFS licence authorises you and your representatives to provide financial services to clients.

Who are general insurance companies regulated by?

General insurers are prudentially regulated under the Insurance Act 1973, which mandates that companies must be authorised in order to provide general insurance products. However a number of public sector enterprises, not regulated under the Act, also deliver some general insurance services.

Who needs AFS license?

You may need an AFS licence if, as part of your business, you: provide financial product advice to clients. deal in a financial product. make a market for a financial product.

Is general insurance a financial product?

"further market-related advice" means advice to which subsection 946B(1) applies. "general advice" has the meaning given by subsection 766B(4). "general insurance product" means a financial product described in paragraph 764A(1)(d).