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In June 2016 and after a long and exhausting campaign, the United-Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. Nine months after the referendum, Prime Minister Theresa May activated the official mechanism that will make it a reality – Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. The time-frame allowed is two years, which is extremely short for multilateral agreements between large economic zones such as the United Kingdom, the European Union and shortly NAFTA, China, India, etc. It is therefore not surprising that the UK and the EU have recently agreed to postpone the official date of the Brexit to March 2019.

The UK and the EU are still negotiating a satisfactory compromise which unfortunately remains elusive. As with any divorce procedure, a happy ending is unusual, and especially when the two players are holding different cards. The EU has a Gross Domestic Product 7 times more significant than the UK, and the outcome of the Brexit will not affect its several multilateral agreements. While, on the contrary, the World Trade Organisation Terms are likely to be extremely tough with the UK, and many questions still remain unanswered.
With its easy access to the Eurozone and the simplicity and efficiency of Anglo-Saxon model, the UK has traditionally been considered one of the most powerful financial centers in Europe. Brexit will have huge consequences to the financial sector, because most of the Eurozone agreements require a decision-making center within the Eurozone. The UK is about to give up its « freedom to provide services » in the Eurozone, which allows, among other things, to issue one single insurance coverage from the UK for all EU countries. Foreign companies will soon have to choose between two options: a purely local British program, which cannot cover any other European country ; or one single policy covering the client’s needs across Europe and managed centrally by one European broker. The latter reduces the number of broker agreements needed and, is more efficient and cost effective.

Brexit will be in force in April 2019 as far as International programs are concerned. Guemas International (GI) is already fully equipped and prepared to provide the best option for the US market.
Our specifically selected and fully experienced international team are dedicated to handling any incoming portfolio, and with our GI Network, we are the best option to manage international programs, all with strict respect to compliance requirements. Our Paris based “Post Brexit” task force is a strong alternative to British brokers, being able to place and coordinate the European risks and to implement Freedom of services policies within the European Union.

For further information : incoming-business