With around 62% of firms reporting exposure to financial crime, money laundering in the insurance sector is a growing global problem. Life insurance firms are at particular risk of money laundering because of the massive flows of funds into and out of their businesses: most life insurance firms offer highly flexible policies and investment products that offer opportunities for customers to deposit and subsequently withdraw large amounts of cash with a relatively minor reduction in value. Show
Accordingly, governments and international authorities implement a range of AML insurance regulations and issue life insurance sanctions lists. With compliance penalties including fines and prison terms, life insurance firms should ensure they understand their obligations and how to implement them as part of their AML insurance policy. Life Insurance AML/CFT RisksLife insurance products and mechanisms that are vulnerable to money laundering in the insurance sector include:
AML Insurance RegulationsAuthorities around the world impose a range of AML insurance regulations. Those anti money laundering insurance regulations involve both AML transaction monitoring and sanctions screening obligations: AML Insurance Transaction Monitoring: Bank Secrecy ActMost financial authorities put in place risk-based AML insurance transaction monitoring requirements for insurance companies within their jurisdictions. In the United States, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) sets out a range of “covered products” to which transaction monitoring requirements apply:
Suspicious Activity Reports: Under the BSA, insurance firms must submit suspicious activity reports (SARs) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) when they detect suspicious transactions connected to one of the covered products. FinCEN issues a SAR form specifically for insurance companies: when completing the form, insurers must obtain client information from a range of sources, including insurance agents and brokers. FinCEN has set a $5,000 threshold for transactions that should be classified as suspicious and merit SAR submission. Insurers should also consider a range of red flags that could indicate potential money laundering in the insurance sector or terrorism financing activities. Those transaction red flags include:
AML Solutions for Insurance CompaniesFind out more about our solutions for insurance companies. Demo requestFinancial Action Task Force: The intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sets out AML insurance sector guidance to be implemented within its member states (as a member state, the US enacts FATF requirements in the BSA). The FATF works in partnership with private sector insurance companies to ensure that its AML insurance regulations are effective and reflect current industry expertise. Asia-Pacific: The risk posed by AML life insurance products is also reflected by financial regulators in APAC. Like other jurisdictions, insurance industry regulations in APAC are risk-based and entail a range of transaction monitoring requirements. In Singapore, for example, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) includes specific requirements for insurers in Notice 314 on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. Learn more about Transaction Monitoring > Insurance and AML SanctionsInsurance companies must comply with targeted financial sanctions that are imposed on customers, entities and individuals by international and governmental authorities. In practice, this means that insurance firms are restricted or prohibited from selling life insurance products to customers that appear on official sanctions lists. Accordingly, insurance firms must implement sanctions screening measures as part of their AML insurance programs to identify customers that appear on those lists. Where customers (policyholders or beneficiaries) appear on sanctions lists, insurance firms must take steps to block transactions or freeze assets and report to the relevant authorities. Since many international authorities share the same AML/CFT objectives, there may be overlap between various sanctions lists. The US, for example, implements the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list, along with the United Nations Security Council sanctions list. Key points for insurers to consider for their sanctions compliance policy include:
Error detection: Sanctions programs should have fail-safe measures to catch employee errors or even deliberate attempts to circumvent the screening process. How to Comply with AML Insurance RegulationsIn addition to implementing suitable transaction monitoring measures to prevent their life insurance products from being used for criminal purposes, insurers should also ensure their AML/CFT programs include suitable customer due diligence (CDD) measures to verify the identities of their customers. CDD is a critical component of the sanctions screening process since it allows insurers to establish that customers are being truthful about their identities and to subsequently find them on sanctions lists. Given the vast amount of information involved in transaction monitoring and sanctions screening, many insurers choose to automate their AML/CFT programs with smart technology. Automated AML/CFT is an opportunity to enhance the speed and accuracy of monitoring and screening processes, reduce potential human error and, ultimately, avoid costly compliance penalties. AML insurance compliance tools for insurers, insurtechs, brokers, and re-insurers giving you a granular view of your customers’ risk throughout the client lifecycle. Request a DemoSee how 1000+ leading companies are screening against the world's only real-time risk database of people and businesses. What is the first step an insurance company should take in establishing an anti money laundering program?One of the first steps for building a comprehensive AML program is to determine the scope of the regulations. On a global level, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has set out series of recommendations to guide implementations.
What are the three stages of the money laundering process?There are usually two or three phases to the laundering: Placement. Layering. Integration / Extraction.
Which insurance policies presents the greatest risk of money laundering?Purchase of (investment type) Single Premium Policies (which enables criminals to 'get rid' of substantial amounts of money in one go) — Highest potential money laundering risk.
How is insurance used in money laundering?Money launders use insurance companies for money laundering by purchasing insurance and then making claims to get insurance funds. Sometimes they take advantage of investment-structured insurance products, such as variable annual income and certain life insurance policies.
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