Domestic Regulation and Insurance: The Case for a GATS "Reference Paper" for the Insurance Sector

The intention of this paper is to stimulate discussion of a topic previously broached in a contribution to The Geneva Association's PROGRES Seminar (September 2003), namely the case for a GATS "Reference Paper" for the insurance sector. It accordingly recalls the regulatory "Best Practices" provisions of the Insurance Model Schedule and puts forward the case for "sectoral" or "vertical" disciplines, probably on the basis of a Reference Paper containing provisions to which WTO members could adhere, in whole or in part, through additional commitments under GATS Article XVIII. It examines the current approaches, within the WTO Working Party on Domestic Regulation, to regulatory disciplines under the GATS. It points to the distinguishing features of a Reference Paper, and examines how far telecommunications (already the subject of a GATS Reference Paper) and insurance raise analogous issues. It outlines the possible content of an Insurance Reference Paper, and makes proposals for the way ahead.