The Legal Framework for Insurance and Reinsurance Distribution (“RJDS”), approved as an annex to Law nº 7/2019, of January 16, establishes the set of rules to be complied with by entities that carry out insurance distribution activities. As provided for in this law, the legislator left some aspects to be regulated by the ASF at a later date, which happened with the issuance of Regulatory Standard nº 13/2020-R, of December 30.

This regulation has now been modified by Regulatory Standard nº 4/2025-R, of May 27, where, in addition to reviewing the amounts of the ancillary insurance intermediary’s professional civil liability insurance, the ASF took the opportunity to make some specific changes to that Regulatory Standard.

The main changes introduced by this new supervisory law are mainly four:

1. As already mentioned, the ASF has updated the amounts of the professional civil liability insurance for ancillary insurance intermediaries, which are reviewed periodically. This review takes into account the evolution of the basic amounts of professional civil liability insurance for insurance and reinsurance intermediaries, as set out in the regulatory technical standards adopted by the European Commission.

Thus, it was established that the amounts of professional civil liability insurance for ancillary insurance intermediaries will now be € 751,016.27 per claim and € 1,126,522.99 per annuity.

1. Another aspect that underwent changes had to do with the means of debiting “client” accounts. In effect, this piece of legislation updates the means that can be used by the insurance intermediary to debit the respective “client” accounts, i.e. accounts in which the insurance intermediary must deposit the amounts relating to premiums received to be delivered to insurance companies and the amounts received to be transferred to policyholders, insured persons or beneficiaries.

Thus, where before there was provision for debit transactions to be made by “bank transfer” or “nominative check”, it is now established that they must be made by “transfer of funds by electronic means that allows the identification or confirmation of the beneficiary”. This wording is thus more extensive, allowing it to cover payment transactions carried out using payment reference, direct debit and credit or immediate transfer.

1. This Regulatory Standard has also adjusted the rule for the annual assessment of the broker’s insurance portfolio dispersion requirements. It is no longer compulsory to take into account the remuneration from the previous three financial years, but is now a subsidiary assessment, applicable when the concentration ratio is lower than that which would result from the remuneration from the last financial year.
2. Lastly, provision has been made for the use of the ASF’s complaints channel, available on its website, as a means of reporting infringements.

It should be noted that this Regulatory Standard nº 4/2025-R, of May 27, will come into force 30 days after its publication in the Diário da República.

Belzuz Abogados S.L.P. – Sucursal em Portugal has a multidisciplinary team with vast experience in analyzing the procedures and obligations relating to the insurance distribution activity, as well as in drafting and reviewing all the contractual documentation inherent to it, which is why it can be an important aid to all national and foreign entities operating in the national insurance market.