Financial Guarantees for the Public Administration

Critical issues have been found in the Italian market for financial guarantees in relation to some financial guarantees and suretyship policies issued by subjects not authorised to do so or that have subsequently turned out to be counterfeit.

To address the risk that suretyship policies to be submitted for access to public tenders are counterfeit, IVASS, Bank of Italy, ANAC and AGCM have published some suggestions (only in Italian) that public administrations can follow to reduce the risk of accepting invalid financial guarantees.

The Public Procurement Code (leg. decree 36/2023 only in Italian) has also introduced new requirements to ensure the authenticity of these guarantees.

In particular, the suretyship cover, which can be also issued by insurance companies pursuing the suretyship class, must be digitally issued and signed, and must be verifiable by electronic means at the issuer or managed through the use of platforms operating with technologies based on distributed ledgers.

Pending the adoption of these platforms, ANAC (Resolution No. 606/2023 only in Italian) introduced a transitional solution: until 30 June 2024, to allow contracting entities to verify the authenticity of the policy, insurance companies shall alternatively

• provide a special section in their website, dedicated to the verification of the authenticity of the policy in real time;

• have a Certified Electronic Mail address (reported in the Register of insurance undertakings “RIGA” kept by IVASS), through which the contracting entity can ask for confirmation of authenticity; replies from undertakings must be received within 5 working days.

The contracting entities can check the chosen verification method by directly consulting the list of insurance companies pursuing the suretyship class (only in Italian).

Last update

8 February 2024

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LIST OF UNDERTAKINGS LICENSED TO CARRY ON SURETYSHIP INSURANCE

  1. List of insurance undertakings authorised to carry on suretyship insurance with the indication of the electronic verification methods zip 12.6 KB updated at 18.04.2024
  2. Legend: list of insurance undertakings authorised to carry on suretyship insurance with the indication of the electronic verification method pdf 411.2 KB

SUGGESTIONS

  1. Joint document by IVASS, the Bank of Italy, ANAC and Agcm pdf 293.5 KB Financial guarantees: suggestions for Public administrations and other beneficiaries (only in Italian)

PRESS RELEASES

  1. Financial Guarantees: Suggestions for Public Administrations and other Beneficiaries (only in Italian) pdf 325.0 KB

HEARINGS

  1. Financial guarantees in the waste sector (only in Italian) pdf 519.1 KB Hearing of the Secretary General Stefano De Polis at the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry on illegal activities linked to the waste cycle and on the related environmental crimes. Rome, 3 February 2020

REFERENCES TO THE LEGISLATION

  1. Clarification by ANAC of 31 January 2024 regarding resolution No. 606/2023 (only in Italian) (External link)
  2. IVASS Letter to the market of 4 January 2024
  3. ANAC Resolution No. 606 of 19 December 2023 (only in Italian) (External link)
  4. legislative decree No. 36 of 31 March 2023 (only in Italian) (External link)
  5. decree no. 31 of 19 January 2018 - Ministry of Economic Development (only in Italian) (External link)
  6. legislative decree no. 36 of 13 January 2003 (only in Italian) (External link)
  7. legislative decree no. 152 of 3 April 2006 (only in Italian) (External link)
  8. legislative decree no. 50 of 18 April 2016 (only in Italian) (External link)
  9. law no. 348 of 10 June 1982 (only in Italian) (External link)