ISVAP (Istituto per la vigilanza sulle assicurazioni private e di interesse collettivo) - the supervisory body for private insurance - is endowed with legal status under public law, and it was set up with law n. 576 of 12 August 1982. ISVAP is an independent authority, fully autonomous in the juridical, financial, accounting, organization and management field.
ISVAP's organs are: the President, who also acts as Director General, and the Board of Directors, made up of six members apart from the President. The organization chart contained in this section shows ISVAP's internal organization. The staff serving on 23rd August 2010 was made up of 346 permanent employees and 15 employees under fixed-term contract; they perform their duties in accordance with the Staff regulation.

The supervision exerted by ISVAP is aimed to ensure the sound and prudent management of insurance and reinsurance undertakings as well as transparency and fairness of behaviours by undertakings, intermediaries and other insurance sector participants, having regard to the stability, efficiency, competitiveness and correct functioning of the insurance system, the protection of policyholders and anyone entitled to insurance benefits, disclosure to and protection of consumers.

• undertakings pursuing insurance and reinsurance business within the territory of the Italian Republic;

• insurance groups and financial conglomerates to which the above undertakings belong, in accordance with the specific rules applicable to them (the so-called "supplementary" supervision);

• insurance and reinsurance intermediaries, loss adjusters and any other insurance market participant;

• anyone who, in any form, performs functions partly included in the operational cycle of insurance and reinsurance undertakings, limited to insurance and reinsurance profiles.

ISVAP carries out supervisory functions over the insurance sector by means of its powers of authorization, direction, inspection, enforcement of precautionary measures and sanctions as well as through the adoption of any regulation necessary for the sound and prudent management of undertakings or for disclosure and fairness of behaviour by supervised entities. Supervisory provisions, contained in the many sectoral regulations, have now been unified in the Insurance Code as per legislative decree n. 209 of 7 September 2005, which will become effective on 1 January 2006.

In particular, ISVAP grants undertakings the authorisation to pursue insurance and/or reinsurance business in the different classes and to extend their activity to classes other than those already authorised, performs all the tasks connected with the granting of authorisation, and constantly verifies that all the requirements for the exercise of the activity are met. It also authorises mergers, split-ups, transfers of portfolio and intra-group transactions. These tasks are performed by means of controls over the technical, financial and accounting management of domestic and foreign insurance undertakings (branches of undertakings with head office in a non EU country) and reinsures subject to its supervision. The control over the stability of undertakings established in a EU member State and pursuing insurance business in Italy by way of establishment or of free provision of services falls within the province of the home member State (the so-called home country control).

In the exercise of its own functions ISVAP may require the supervised entities to communicate data and information - even on a systematic basis - and order on-site inspections and specific investigations about them, also with the collaboration of Guardia di Finanza (the Financial Police); it may call the insurance and reinsurance undertakings' administrative and controlling bodies' members and directors general, the auditing companies' legal representatives, the auditing actuary, the appointed actuary for life business and the appointed actuary for motor liability insurance. It may also request that the general meeting be convened, the undertakings' administrative and controlling bodies be called and convene them directly where the competent subjects have failed to do so.

ISVAP carries out the activities necessary to promote an appropriate degree of protection of policyholders and third parties. Going into details, in case the undertaking violates the regulations it must abide by or its behaviour might undermine its stability, ISVAP can take corrective, repressive and sanctioning measures or propose their adoption by the Ministry of Production Activities.

ISVAP also carries out all the activities necessary to enhance the knowledge of the insurance market, including statistical and economic surveys and the collection of elements used to work out the Government's insurance strategies. ISVAP also provides consultation and presents proposals to Parliament and the Government for matters within its competence for the regulation and supervision of the insurance industry.

In the exercise of its statutory functions ISVAP promotes all forms of collaboration deemed necessary with the other financial supervisory authorities and with the insurance supervisors of the other EU countries.

By 31 May of each year ISVAP presents the President of the Council of Ministers with a report on its activity, for transmission to Parliament. The regulations, interpretative recommendations and orders regarding the supervised entities are published in the monthly Bulletin and available on ISVAP's internet site.

The laws accords ISVAP a key role in consumer protection, with special regard to transparency in the relations between undertakings and policyholders and the information for consumers; going into details, ISVAP disciplines the information which must be made available to policyholders before the conclusion and during the life of the contract, establishes the rules of conduct with which undertakings and intermediaries must comply in the supply and execution of insurance contracts and monitors compliance with them. ISVAP exercises these powers over all undertakings operating on the Italian market, including those having their head office in another EU country and operating in Italy by way of establishment or of free provision of services. To this end ISVAP has introduced a specific procedure for the management of consumers' complaints, which must be sent to a specific structure within the undertaking; it may intervene in case of unsatisfactory reply and whenever laws and regulations are violated.

Almost all the revenue needed to cover ISVAP's expenditure is made up of the contribution for supervision, to be borne by the supervised entities; the remaining revenue is made up mainly of interests earned on bank deposits and the income from the financial management.

ISVAP's budget and financial statements are subject to the control by Corte dei Conti (the State Audit Court).