Insurance, reinsurance and surety law in the Dominican Republic

Lawyers and underwriters at once

Law 146-02 on Insurance and Surety of the Dominican Republic regulates insurance companies, reinsurers, intermediaries and adjusters under the supervision of the Superintendencia de Seguros. It is a technical statute, with requirements on minimum capital, reserves, admitted investments, mandatory reinsurance and publication of financial statements. Reading it well requires understanding the insurance business, not just the legal text.

With more than thirty years in surety and reinsurance underwriting, and with executive leadership of a reinsurer domiciled in the country, our team advises the regulated from the experience of the regulated. That translates into licensing files that get approved, reinsurance treaties that work when the loss arrives, and surety claims resolved with judgment.

• Formation and licensing of insurers, reinsurers and brokers before the Superintendencia de Seguros
• Registration of foreign reinsurers and reinsurance intermediaries
• Proportional and non proportional treaties, facultative placements and fronting agreements
• Drafting and review of policies, general and particular conditions, and their regulatory approval
• Judicial, performance, bid, customs and fidelity bonds: posting, acceptance and discharge
• Coverage claims and litigation, subrogation and recovery against third parties
• Ongoing compliance: reserves, investments, corporate governance, anti money laundering
• Mergers, acquisitions and portfolio transfers between insurers

Surety: our specialty within the specialty

A surety bond is a guarantee contract, not insurance, even though Law 146-02 regulates both in the same statute. A surety that pays has the right to recover from its principal; an insurer that pays does not. That difference changes underwriting, collateral, claims and litigation. We advise contractors, bidders, importers and litigants on how to obtain the bond, how to get the court or the contracting entity to accept it, how to substitute collateral and how to discharge it when the obligation ends.

We also represent sureties and reinsurers in claims, in recovery actions against principals and indemnitors, and in the defense of improper claims. And in the United States, through VSP Law, PLLC and the group's affiliated companies, we handle federal and state court bonds, contractor bonds and license bonds.

Reinsurance and international capacity

Many Dominican and Latin American insurers need reinsurance capacity for risks beyond their retention, and many foreign reinsurers need to register in order to accept business from the country. We draft and negotiate treaties, slips and fronting agreements, handle reinsurer registration before the Superintendencia and structure programs that comply with the rules on mandatory reinsurance and acceptable reinsurers.

Content reviewed by C. Constantin Poindexter Salcedo, MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP, partner at VSP Consultores Legales. Updated September 22, 2026.