How does a UK firm decide whether it needs to make a passporting notification?
A UK firm must make a passporting notification if there is a cross-border element to the activities it carries on or intends to carry on. Such a firm must notify us that it wishes to passport, either by setting up a branch in another EEA state or by operating in that state on a cross-border basis. In practice, it can be difficult to identify whether a service is provided through an establishment in another EEA state or whether there is a cross-border element. For insurers, whether there is a cross-border element depends on where the risk is located, as set out in ‘State of the risk’ (see the definition in the Handbook Glossary). Appendix 3 of the Supervision manual gives guidance on these issues. For insurance intermediaries, the type of activity determines where the mediation activity is usually considered to be carried on: • ‘arranging’ – where the arranging takes place; • ‘advising’ – where the advice is received (usually where the customer is located); • ‘dealing’ – where the accep
