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Insurance in Chile for foreign groups: who may underwrite, foreign insurer branches, cross border cover, minimum capital, leverage limits and brokers

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

Only Chilean insurance and reinsurance corporations with an exclusive insurance object, or branches of foreign insurers authorised by the CMF, may underwrite risks in Chile, and they are split into a property and casualty group and a life group. Anyone may buy insurance abroad except compulsory insurance and pension related cover, and foreign insurers may sell international marine, aviation, goods in transit and satellite cover directly. Insurers need at least 90,000 UF of capital, may not exceed debt of 5 times equity (property and casualty) or 15 times (life), and remit branch profits only with CMF authorisation.

USD figures use the Central Bank exchange rate of CLP 986.58 per US dollar published in the Diario Oficial for 23 October 2026 (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 44). UF figures use the SII value of CLP 41,221.08 per UF for 26 October 2026 and UTM figures the October 2026 value of CLP 72,151. Conversions are for orientation only; the legal thresholds are set in UF or UTM.

Key facts

Minimum capital of an insurance company	90000 UFDFL Nº 251 art. 7, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum total debt to equity, property and casualty insurers	5 timesDFL Nº 251 art. 15, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum total debt to equity, life insurers	15 timesDFL Nº 251 art. 15, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Foreign insurers may operate through a Chilean branch	Yes, with CMF authorisation textDFL Nº 251 art. 4 bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum rating for foreign reinsurers of Chilean risks	BBB or equivalent textDFL Nº 251 art. 16 c), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Buying insurance abroad	Allowed except compulsory insurance and pension related cover textDFL Nº 251 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Insuring risks for premiums may only be done in Chile by Chilean insurance and reinsurance corporations whose exclusive object is that business and related activities the CMF authorises. Insurers are divided into two groups: the first covers loss or damage to property or assets, the second covers risks to persons or guarantees them a capital, paid up policy or annuity. National reinsurers may operate in both groups with separate capital and accounts.DFL Nº 251 of 1931, insurance companies law (Diario Oficial 22 May 1931), as amended, Art. 4, art. 8 and art. 15, 1931-05-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Foreign insurers established abroad may sell in Chile insurance for international maritime transport, international commercial aviation, goods in international transit and satellites, and the cargo they carry. Any person or company may freely buy any kind of insurance abroad, except compulsory insurance established by law and cover under DL Nº 3.500 (pensions), which must be bought from companies established in Chile; Chilean insurers may also underwrite risks from abroad. These cross border contracts are subject to the FX rules, and insurance bought from companies not established in Chile bears the same taxes as insurance bought locally.
Example: A Chilean exporter may insure its cargo to Rotterdam with a London marine insurer directly, but any insurance made compulsory by law must be bought from a company established in Chile. / A US$2 million directors and officers policy can be placed abroad, with the same taxes as a local policy.DFL Nº 251 of 1931, art. 4 as amended by Ley Nº 20.552 (Diario Oficial 17 December 2011), Art. 4, second to fifth paragraphs, 2011-12-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Insurers incorporated abroad may set up a branch in Chile as an agency of a foreign corporation under Title XI of Ley Nº 18.046 with the authorisation of its Title XIII, showing the CMF that they meet the requirements for authorising an insurer. Branches have the same rights and duties as Chilean insurers of the same group; the equity assigned must be brought in and converted to pesos; disputes go to Chilean courts; Chile domiciled creditors of the branch have preference over its assets in Chile; branches need no board but a fully empowered agent; and profit remittances need prior CMF authorisation and compliance with capital and solvency rules.DFL Nº 251 of 1931, art. 4 bis as added by Ley Nº 20.190 (Diario Oficial 5 June 2007), Art. 4 bis, 2007-06-05 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. The capital of an insurance company may not be less than 90,000 UF at incorporation and must be fully subscribed and paid to authorise its existence; if equity later falls below 90,000 UF the company must restore it under the regularisation rules or lose its authorisation. Insurers may not reduce capital or pay dividends if that breaks capital and solvency requirements.
Cost to do it: Minimum capital 90,000 UF (about CLP 3,709,897,200 or US$3.76 million); CMF fee for approval of existence 34 UF and 10 UF per policy model approved (DL Nº 3.538 art. 33).DFL Nº 251 of 1931, as amended by Decreto Ley Nº 3.057 (Diario Oficial 10 January 1980) and Ley Nº 19.301 (Diario Oficial 19 March 1994), Art. 2 and art. 7, 1994-03-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Total debt of property and casualty insurers may not exceed 5 times equity, and of life insurers 15 times; technical reserves and risk capital must be backed by eligible investments in the categories and limits set by law and CMF general rules, including caps on foreign investment set by the Central Bank. Shareholders who control a life insurer or hold more than 10 percent of its shares must send the CMF reliable information on their financial situation, as set by CMF general rule.DFL Nº 251 of 1931, as amended by Ley Nº 18.660 (Diario Oficial 20 October 1987), Art. 9 bis, art. 15, art. 21 and art. 23, 1987-10-20 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Contracts underwritten in Chile may be reinsured with Chilean reinsurers (exclusive object corporations with at least 120,000 UF of equity for each group they operate in), with Chilean insurers within their own group, or with foreign reinsurers rated at least BBB or equivalent by internationally recognised agencies. Foreign reinsurers must appoint a fully empowered representative in Chile who can be sued, unless the business is placed through a foreign reinsurance broker registered with the CMF, which then acts as their legal representative; such brokers must carry an errors and omissions policy of at least the greater of 20,000 UF or one third of the premium they placed in Chile the previous year.
Cost to do it: Chilean reinsurer equity of at least 120,000 UF (about CLP 4,946,529,600 or US$5.01 million) per group; broker cover of at least 20,000 UF (about CLP 824,421,600 or US$835,636) or one third of premiums placed.DFL Nº 251 of 1931, art. 16 as amended by Ley Nº 19.769 (Diario Oficial 7 November 2001), Art. 16, 2001-11-07 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Insurance may be bought directly from the insurer, through its sales agents, or through independent insurance brokers.DFL Nº 251 of 1931, Art. 57, 1931-05-22 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Cover	Foreign insurer may sell in Chile	Chilean buyer may buy abroad
International marine transport, international aviation, goods in transit, satellites	Yes	Yes
Other property, liability, D&O and similar	No (needs a Chilean insurer or branch)	Yes
Compulsory insurance set by law	No	No
Pension related cover under DL Nº 3.500	No	No

Can this risk be insured outside Chile? (DFL Nº 251 art. 4)

Worked example

A foreign insurer wants to write Chilean mining risks. It can open a branch under DFL Nº 251 art. 4 bis, bringing in equity of at least 90,000 UF (about CLP 3,709,897,200 or US$3.76 million) converted to pesos, with a fully empowered agent, or set up a Chilean insurance S.A. Its property and casualty business is limited to debt of 5 times equity (art. 15).
Alternatively the Chilean mining company may buy its property cover directly from the insurer abroad (art. 4), under the FX rules and paying the same taxes as on a local policy.

Step by step

1. Classify the risk: compulsory, pension related, international transport, or other.
2. Decide on a Chilean insurer, a foreign insurer's branch or a cross border policy.
3. For a branch or new insurer, prepare the CMF application, 90,000 UF capital and solvency plan.
4. Approve policy models with the CMF (10 UF each).
5. Set up investments backing reserves within the art. 21 and 23 limits.
6. Remit branch profits only after CMF authorisation.

Common traps

Selling non transport insurance into Chile from abroad: only the listed international lines are open to foreign insurers (art. 4).
Buying compulsory cover abroad, which is not allowed (art. 4).
Assuming cross border premiums escape local taxes: they bear the same taxes as local insurance (art. 4).
Remitting branch profits without CMF authorisation (art. 4 bis).
Paying dividends that breach the leverage or risk capital rules (art. 2 and 15).

Sources

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