Countries › Brazil › Guide › 10. Capital markets and finance › Insurance and reinsurance in Brazil: SUSEP licensing, buying cover abroad, local reinsurer preference and the new insurance contract law

Insurance and reinsurance in Brazil: SUSEP licensing, buying cover abroad, local reinsurer preference and the new insurance contract law

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Only S.A.s and cooperatives authorized by SUSEP may write insurance in Brazil, and residents and Brazilian companies must buy cover for Brazilian risks from local insurers, with narrow exceptions. Foreign reinsurers operate as admitted (with a local office) or occasional reinsurers, but local reinsurers get a preferential offer of at least 40 percent of each cession. A new insurance contract law in force since December 2025 applies Brazilian law to policies covering Brazilian risks or insureds, gives insurers 30 days to accept or deny a claim and 30 more to pay, and requires any arbitration to sit in Brazil under Brazilian law.

USD figures use the Banco Central do Brasil PTAX selling rate of R$5.3346 per US dollar for 27 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

SUSEP authorization required to write insurance	Yes (S.A. or cooperative) Decreto-Lei nº 73 art. 24, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Preferential offer to local reinsurers	40 % of cessionsLei Complementar nº 126 art. 11 II, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Residents may buy cover abroad for Brazilian risks	Only in narrow exceptions Lei Complementar nº 126 arts. 19 and 20, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum time for insurer to accept or deny a claim	30 daysLei nº 15.040 art. 86, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum time to pay after acknowledging cover	30 daysLei nº 15.040 art. 87, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Seat and law for insurance arbitration	Brazil, Brazilian law Lei nº 15.040 art. 129, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Only legal entities organized as sociedades por ações or cooperatives and previously authorized by SUSEP may operate in private insurance; capitalization and certain capital coverage regimes are reserved to S.A.s. Authorization is requested from SUSEP under CNSP procedures, and the company then has 90 days to prove compliance with all formalities before SUSEP issues the operating authorization.Decreto-Lei nº 73 of 21 November 1966, as worded by Lei Complementar nº 213 of 15 January 2025, Arts. 24, 36, 74, 75 and 76, 2025-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Lei Complementar nº 213 of 15 January 2025 rewrote arts. 24, 36 and 74 to 76, allowing insurance cooperatives and updating SUSEP powers.

2. Reinsurance may be placed with local reinsurers (Brazilian S.A.s dedicated to reinsurance), admitted reinsurers (foreign, with a representative office in Brazil and SUSEP registration) and occasional reinsurers (foreign, without an office, registered with SUSEP). Occasional reinsurers cannot be based in tax havens taxing income below 20 percent or with corporate secrecy. Foreign reinsurers need at least 5 years of operations at home, minimum capacity and rating, and a Brazilian attorney for service of process.Lei Complementar nº 126 of 15 January 2007, Arts. 4 and 6, 2007-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Under SUSEP rules, the ceding insurer must contract or offer preferentially to local reinsurers at least 40 percent of its reinsurance cessions. Reinsurers do not answer directly to the insured, except for direct payment where the cedant is insolvent and the contract is facultative or has a direct payment clause.
Example: Reinsurance cession of R$10,000,000: at least R$4,000,000 must first be offered to local reinsurers. / Cession of US$1,874,555: US$749,822 offered locally first.Lei Complementar nº 126 of 15 January 2007, Art. 11, item II; art. 14, 2007-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Compulsory insurance and voluntary insurance bought by Brazilian residents or companies for risks in Brazil must be placed in Brazil. Buying abroad is limited to risks with no cover available in Brazil, travel cover for residents while abroad, insurance under international agreements and legacy cases; companies may insure risks located abroad with foreign insurers, informing SUSEP.Lei Complementar nº 126 of 15 January 2007, Arts. 19 and 20, 2007-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Brazilian law applies exclusively to insurance contracts issued by an insurer authorized in Brazil, where the insured or proposer is resident or domiciled in Brazil, or where the insured property is in Brazil. Insurance disputes may be sent to alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration, only if conducted in Brazil under Brazilian law, and suits may be brought at the insured's or beneficiary's domicile.Lei nº 15.040 of 9 December 2024 (insurance contract law), Art. 4 § 1; art. 129; art. 131, 2024-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Lei nº 15.040/2024 entered into force one year after its publication on 10 December 2024 (art. 134), replacing the Civil Code insurance chapter as the main contract regime.

6. The insurer has at most 30 days from a complete claim notice to accept or deny cover, failing which it loses the right to deny, and at most 30 days after acknowledging cover to pay. With automatic renewal, the insurer must give notice of non renewal or changes 30 days before the end, and a policy is presumed to last one year.Lei nº 15.040 of 9 December 2024, Arts. 52, 53, 86 and 87, 2024-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Type	Base	Presence in Brazil
Local	Brazil (S.A. dedicated to reinsurance)	Licensed company
Admitted	Abroad	Representative office and SUSEP registration
Occasional	Abroad (not in tax havens)	SUSEP registration only

Reinsurer types (Lei Complementar nº 126 art. 4)

Worked example

Global program for a Brazilian subsidiary. A foreign group wants its master policy to cover its Brazilian plant. Because the risk is in Brazil and the subsidiary is a Brazilian company, the cover must be issued by a SUSEP authorized insurer (Lei Complementar nº 126 art. 19 II), typically fronting and reinsuring into the group's program. The local insurer must offer at least 40 percent of the cession to local reinsurers first (art. 11). The local policy follows Brazilian law, any arbitration must sit in Brazil (Lei nº 15.040 arts. 4 and 129), and the insurer must decide a claim within 30 days and pay within 30 more (arts. 86 and 87).

Step by step

1. Check whether the risk and insured are Brazilian; if so, place cover with a SUSEP authorized insurer.
2. For a global program, use a local fronting insurer and reinsure back, respecting the local reinsurer preference.
3. Foreign reinsurers: register as admitted (with office) or occasional with SUSEP and appoint a Brazilian attorney.
4. Review policy wording against Lei nº 15.040 (Brazilian law, Brazilian seated arbitration, 30 day claim deadlines).
5. To write insurance locally, incorporate an S.A. or cooperative and apply to SUSEP, then complete formalities within 90 days.

Common traps

Buying offshore cover for Brazilian risks. Only the narrow cases of LC nº 126 art. 20 allow it.
Foreign law and seat in the policy. Brazilian law applies exclusively in the cases of Lei nº 15.040 art. 4 § 1, and arbitration must be in Brazil under Brazilian law (art. 129).
Missing the 30 day decision window. An insurer that does not respond within 30 days of a complete claim loses the right to deny cover (Lei nº 15.040 art. 86).
Tax haven reinsurers. Occasional reinsurers based in jurisdictions taxing income below 20 percent cannot register (LC nº 126 art. 4 § 1).

Sources

← Consumer credit and credit bureaus in Brazil: disclosure, responsible lending, over indebtedness and the positive registryBuying real estate in Brazil: foreign ownership limits, deed and registry, transfer tax and how non residents are taxed →