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Insurance: authorisations, reports and contracts · France / Switzerland

Insurer outsourcing: retained control and oversight

An insurer’s outsourcing dossier identifies the activity and materiality decision before reviewing responsibility, contract and oversight. France’s prudential framework differs from Switzerland’s business-plan and supervisory requirements. Gather providers, subcontractors, information and audit rights, and actual notifications or approvals. Track continuity, incidents, changes and exit without treating delegation as an automatic transfer of responsibility. Prudential control is a different task from the technical mechanics of cloud migration.

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Example question

Who retains responsibility and internal control?

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France: the insurer retains responsibility within L354-3’s framework. Switzerland: document retained responsibility under the applicable insurer outsourcing framework; a supplier contract does not prove transfer of every supervisory duty to that supplier.

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Your file concerns “Insurer outsourcing: retained control and oversight”. Does it concern France or Switzerland? Share the document for activity and materiality and the decision you need to prepare.

French law

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Answer

Which activity and materiality decision define the outsourcing?

France: identify outsourced function, perimeter and materiality under L354-3. Switzerland: establish the relevant insurer function and business-plan scope separately; storing data and delegating an important function are not classified by the word cloud alone.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

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Retained-responsibility and supervisory-access matrix

Synthetic example: fictional records. Retained-responsibility and supervisory-access matrix.

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Synthetic example: fictional records · Retained-responsibility and supervisory-access matrix

Jurisdiction
France
Activity and materiality
Function F1, assessment M1
Providers and contract
Provider P1, chain S1
Control and authority
Access A1, process N1
Continuity and follow-up
Plan C1, incidents I1

Prudential control is a different task from the technical mechanics of cloud migration.

Answer

Who retains responsibility and internal control?

France: the insurer retains responsibility within L354-3’s framework. Switzerland: document retained responsibility under the applicable insurer outsourcing framework; a supplier contract does not prove transfer of every supervisory duty to that supplier.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

The law

Which official provision helps explain this situation?

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingSources checked 3 November 2026See the texts cited

An insurer’s outsourcing dossier identifies the activity and materiality decision before reviewing responsibility, contract and oversight. France’s prudential framework differs from Switzerland’s business-plan and supervisory requirements. Gather providers, subcontractors, information and audit rights, and actual notifications or approvals. Track continuity, incidents, changes and exit without treating delegation as an automatic transfer of responsibility. Prudential control is a different task from the technical mechanics of cloud migration.

Answer

Which providers and subcontractors form the chain?

France: map providers, subcontractors and actual delegated tasks to agreements. Switzerland: retain the corresponding outsourcing inventory and dependencies; group relationship or product name does not describe the complete chain of responsible actors.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Comparison

Preparation reference: Retained-responsibility and supervisory-access matrix

Retained-responsibility and supervisory-access matrix
Preparation questionPoint to verify
Which activity and materiality decision define the outsourcing?France: identify outsourced function, perimeter and materiality under L354-3. Switzerland: establish the relevant insurer function and business-plan scope separately; storing data and delegating an important function are not classified by the word cloud alone.
Who retains responsibility and internal control?France: the insurer retains responsibility within L354-3’s framework. Switzerland: document retained responsibility under the applicable insurer outsourcing framework; a supplier contract does not prove transfer of every supervisory duty to that supplier.
Which providers and subcontractors form the chain?France: map providers, subcontractors and actual delegated tasks to agreements. Switzerland: retain the corresponding outsourcing inventory and dependencies; group relationship or product name does not describe the complete chain of responsible actors.
What written duties and information or audit rights are agreed?France: connect cooperation, information access and audit commitments to the actual function. Switzerland: the applicable FINMA outsourcing circular has its own control-access requirements; a generic commercial clause does not demonstrate every relevant supervisory right.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Answer

What written duties and information or audit rights are agreed?

France: connect cooperation, information access and audit commitments to the actual function. Switzerland: the applicable FINMA outsourcing circular has its own control-access requirements; a generic commercial clause does not demonstrate every relevant supervisory right.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Answer

What notification, approval or prudential change is required?

France: L354-3 provides prior ACPR information for important or critical functions and significant changes. Switzerland: determine the actual VAG business-plan and FINMA procedure separately; the French notice does not establish Swiss approval or one common deadline.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Answer

Which continuity, incident and oversight records are retained?

France: retain continuity plans, incident records and tested supervision evidence. Switzerland: preserve corresponding operational-risk and continuity documents; an untested exit plan is not proof of recovery, and specific reporting triggers require separate checking.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Answer

What change or exit event requires further supervision?

France: connect provider, function and exit changes to the relevant prudential follow-up. Switzerland: examine corresponding inventory, business-plan and supervisory conditions; completed technical migration does not itself prove completion of every regulatory update.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Answer

Why is prudential control separate from technical cloud migration?

France: this task concerns retained insurer responsibility and supervisory control. Switzerland: keep the same boundary from technical cloud migration or data export; neither a successful transfer nor a signed supply contract proves blanket prudential compliance.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Sources

Which official references should you consult?

  1. FINMA, circulaire2018/3 Outsourcingwww.finma.ch
  2. Code assurances L354-3 : L354-3www.legifrance.gouv.fr
  3. ACPR important or critical outsourcingacpr.banque-france.fr
  4. Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47fedlex.data.admin.ch
  5. Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47fedlex.data.admin.ch
  6. Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47fedlex.data.admin.ch
  7. Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98fedlex.data.admin.ch
  8. Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98fedlex.data.admin.ch
  9. Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98fedlex.data.admin.ch

Texts cited last checked: 3 November 2026

Frequent questions

What other questions arise in this file?

Who retains responsibility and internal control?

What written duties and information or audit rights are agreed?

France: connect cooperation, information access and audit commitments to the actual function. Switzerland: the applicable FINMA outsourcing circular has its own control-access requirements; a generic commercial clause does not demonstrate every relevant supervisory right.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Which continuity, incident and oversight records are retained?

France: retain continuity plans, incident records and tested supervision evidence. Switzerland: preserve corresponding operational-risk and continuity documents; an untested exit plan is not proof of recovery, and specific reporting triggers require separate checking.

FINMA, circulaire2018/3 OutsourcingCode assurances L354-3 : L354-3ACPR important or critical outsourcingInsurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Act LSA/VAG/LSA : 4, 5, 47Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98Insurance Supervision Ordinance OS/AVO/OS : 97, 98

Why is prudential control separate from technical cloud migration?