
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) NO 1227/1999 of 28 May 1999 concerning the technical format for the transmission of insurance services statistics (Text with EEA relevance) 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97 of 20 December 1996 concerning structural business statistics, as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 410/98, and in particular Article 12(viii) thereof,

(1) Whereas Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97 established a common framework for the production of Community statistics on the structure, activity, performance and competitiveness of the insurance sector in the Community;

(2) Whereas it is necessary to specify the technical format for the transmission of insurance services statistics;

(3) Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Statistical Programme Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 
The technical format referred to in Article 9 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 58/97 is defined in the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2 
Member States shall apply this format for the data concerning the 1996 reference year and subsequent years.
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
ANNEX
TECHNICAL FORMAT
1. The form of the data 

The data is sent as a set of records of which a large part describes the characteristics of the data (country, year, economic activity, etc.). The data itself is a number which can be linked to flags and explanatory footnotes used for example to describe aggregations of NACE codes. Confidential data should be sent with the true value being recorded in the value field and a flag indicating the nature of the confidential data being added to the record.

In order to be precise about the nature of the data, it is necessary to distinguish the following special cases:

— data equal to zero (coded ‘0’)real values of zero only,— confidential data (coded ‘x’)indicates data which the Member State does not transmit to Eurostat because the data is confidential,— missing data (coded ‘m’)this is data which is currently missing but the Member State intends to supply when available,— data not availablethis is data which is not collected in a Member State. In this case the corresponding record is not sent.

By default, if an entire dimension (a variable, a NUTS code, a NACE code, etc.) is not collected then the corresponding records will not exist except for those which are missing because they form part of a regrouping of NACE codes. This is why it is important to distinguish data which is really missing by supplying a record (one per missing item) in which the data value is coded as ‘m’, and data which is really equal to zero by supplying the corresponding records in which the data value is set to 0.

2. Record structure 




Records are made up of fields of variable length separated by semi-colons (;). The maximum expected length is shown in the table for your information. In order from left to right (from 1 to 17) they are:

 Field Type Maximum length Values
1 Series A 2 5A, 5B, 5C, etc. Alphanumeric code of the series (see list below)
2 Year A 4 Year in four characters, e. g. 1996
3 Territorial unit A 2 Corresponds to the country code. NUTS 95 is the new nomenclature put in place in June 95
4 Economic activity A 4 NACE Rev. 1 code
5 Measurement A 3 Variable — type of measurement
6 Unit A 4 Unit
7 Variable A 5 Variable code. The codes laid down in Annex 5 to the SBS Regulation have 5 characters (see list below)
8 Type of insurance enterprise/business A 1 Code for the type of insurance enterprise or insurance business (see list below)
9 Size class A 4 Code for the size class (see list below)
Residence of parent enterprise A 4 Code for the country of residence of the parent enterprise (see list below)
10 Breakdown of products A 6 Corresponds to the classification of products according to activities code (see list below)
11 Legal status A 4 Code for the legal status of the enterprise (see list below)
Geographical breakdown A 4 Code for the geographical breakdown of the partner countries (see list below)
12 Data value A 12 Numeric value of the data (negative values are preceded by a minus sign) expressed as a whole number without decimal places. An ‘x’ should be used if the data is not sent to Eurostat because the data is confidential and an ‘m’ should be used if the data is not sent because it is missing
13 Quality flag A 1 R: revised data, M: updated data P: provisional data
14 Confidentiality flag A 1 A, B, C, D: indicates that the data is confidential and the reason for that confidentiality (see list below). A blank space indicates non-confidential data
15 Dominance N 3 A numeric value less than or equal to 100. This indicates the percentage dominance of one or two enterprises which dominate the data and make it confidential. The value is rounded to the nearest whole number: e.g 90,3 becomes 90, 94,50 becomes 95. This field is blank for non-confidential data. This field is only used when the confidentiality flags B or C are used in the previous field
16 List A 1 Code corresponding to the list to which the variable — characteristic — belongs
17 Footnote A 250 Free note on the data
NB:
A = Alphanumeric, N = Numeric.

This format may be converted into a fixed format by using the maximum length of each field and right justifying the contents of each field preceded by blanks.

3. Description of the fields 
 3.1. Series 


Series type Code
Annual enterprise statistics 5A
Annual enterprise statistics broken down by legal status 5B
Annual enterprise statistics broken down according to the country of residence of the parent enterprise 5C
Annual enterprise statistics broken down by size class 5D
Annual enterprise statistics broken down by product 5E
Annual enterprise statistics by geographical breakdown 5F
 3.2. Year 
 3.3. Territorial unit 

This code corresponds to the country for national series


Country name Code
Belgium BE
Bulgaria BG
Czech Republic CZ
Denmark DK
Germany DE
Estonia EE
Greece GR
Spain ES
France FR
Ireland IE
Italy IT
Cyprus CY
Latvia LV
Lithuania LT
Luxembourg LU
Hungary HU
Malta MT
Netherlands NL
Austria AT
Poland PL
Portugal PT
Romania RO
Slovenia SI
Slovakia SK
Finland FI
Sweden SE
United Kingdom UK
Iceland IS
Liechtenstein LI
Norway NO
Switzerland CH
 3.4. Economic activity 


Economic activity title — Nace Rev.1 Code
Life insurance 66.01
Non-life insurance 66.03
Reinsurance 66.04
 3.5. Measurement 


Measurement Code
National currency NC
Euro EUR
Number NBR
 3.6. Unit 


Unit Code
Unit UNIT
1000 1000
Mio MIO
Bio BIO
 3.7. Variable 


Variable title Code
Number of enterprises 11 11 0
Number of enterprises broken down by legal status 11 11 1
Number of enterprises broken down by size class of gross premiums written 11 11 2
Number of enterprises broken down by size class of gross technical provisions 11 11 3
Number of enterprises broken down by country of residence of the parent enterprise 11 11 5
Total number and location of branches in other countries 11 41 0
Technical part of the profit and loss account
Gross premiums written 12 11 0
Gross direct premiums written 12 11 1
Gross reinsurance accepted, written premiums 12 11 2
Gross direct premiums written, individual premiums 12 11 3
Gross direct premiums written, premiums under group contracts 12 11 4
Gross direct premiums written, periodic premiums 12 11 5
Gross direct premiums written, single premiums 12 11 6
Gross direct premiums written, premiums from non-bonus contracts 12 11 7
Gross direct premiums written, premiums from bonus contracts 12 11 8
Gross direct premiums written, premiums from contracts where the investment risk is borne by policyholders 12 11 9
Investment income 32 22 0
Unrealised gains on investments 32 23 0
Gross change in life insurance provision 32 25 0
Investment charges 32 27 0
Unrealised losses on investments 32 28 0
Allocated investment return transferred to the non-technical account 32 29 0
Gross change in the provision for unearned premiums 32 11 2
Gross premiums written broken down by legal status 32 11 4
Gross direct premiums written broken down according to the country of residence of the parent enterprise 32 11 5
Gross reinsurance premiums accepted, written premiums broken down according to the country of residence of the parent enterprise 32 11 6
Allocated investment return transferred from the non-technical account 32 12 0
Gross claims payments 32 13 1
Gross payments in respect of claims incurred in the current accounting year 32 13 2
Gross change in the provision for outstanding claims 32 13 4
Gross operating expenses 32 14 0
Change in the equalisation provision 32 15 0
Other items in the technical account, gross amount 32 16 0
Other technical income, net amount 32 16 1
Net changes in other technical provisions, not shown under other headings 32 16 2
Bonuses and rebates, net amount 32 16 3
Other technical charges, net amount 32 16 4
Sub-total I (= gross balance of the technical account) 32 17 0
Reinsurance balance 32 18 0
Reinsurers share of gross premiums written 32 18 1
Reinsurers share of gross premiums written broken down according to the residence of the parent enterprise 32 18 2
Reinsurers share of the gross change in the provision for unearned premiums 32 18 3
Reinsurers share of gross claims payments 32 18 5
Reinsurers share of gross change in the provision for outstanding claims 32 18 6
Reinsurance commissions and profit participations 32 18 7
Reinsurers share of the gross amount of other items in the technical account 32 18 8
Reinsurers share of gross change in life insurance provision 32 33 4
Sub-total II (= net balance of the technical account) 32 19 0
Non-technical part of the profit and loss account
Investment income 32 42 0
Allocated investment return transferred from the life-assurance technical account 32 43 0
Investment charges 32 44 0
Allocated investment return transferred to the non-life insurance technical account 32 45 0
Other income 32 46 0
Other charges, including value adjustments 32 47 0
Profit or loss on ordinary activities 32 48 0
Extraordinary profit or loss 32 49 0
All taxes (tax on profit or loss on ordinary activities, tax on extraordinary profit or loss, other taxes) 32 50 0
Profit or loss for the financial year 32 51 0
Additional variables relating to the profit and loss account
Commissions for total insurance business 32 61 1
Commissions for direct insurance business 32 61 2
External expenses on goods and services 32 61 4
Personnel costs 13 31 0
External and internal claims management expenses 32 61 5
Acquisition costs 32 61 6
Administrative expenses 32 61 7
Gross other technical charges 32 61 8
Investment management charges 32 61 9
Income from participating interests 32 71 1
Income from land and buildings 32 71 3
Income from other investments 32 71 4
Value re-adjustments on investments 32 71 5
Gains on the realisation on investments 32 71 6
Investment management charges, including interest 32 72 1
Value adjustments on investments 32 72 2
Losses on the realisation on investments 32 72 3
Gross premiums written in direct business by (sub)categories of the CPA (5-digit level and subcategories 66.03.21 and 66.03.22) 33 11 1
Reinsurers share of gross direct premiums written by (sub)categories of the CPA (5-digit level and subcategories 66.03.21 and 66.03.22) 33 12 1
Gross claims incurred, direct business by (sub)categories of the CPA (5-digit level and subcategories 66.03.21 and 66.03.22) 33 13 1
Gross operating expenses, direct business by (sub)categories of the CPA (5-digit level and subcategories 66.03.21 and 66.03.22) 33 14 1
Reinsurance balance, direct business by (sub)categories of the CPA (5-digit level and subcategories 66.03.21 and 66.03.22) 33 15 1
Geographical breakdown — in general — of gross direct premiums written 34 11 0
Geographical breakdown — in general — of gross reinsurance premiums accepted, premiums written 34 12 0
Geographical breakdown of reinsurers share of gross premiums written 34 13 0
Gross direct premiums written by CPA category (5-digit level) and by Member State, geographical breakdown of the business written under the right of establishment 34 31 1
Gross direct premiums written by CPA category (5-digit level) and by Member State, geographical breakdown of business written under the right of freedom to provide services 34 32 1
Number of persons employed 16 11 0
Land and buildings 36 11 0
Land and buildings occupied by an insurance enterprise for its own activities 36 11 1
Land and buildings (current value) 36 11 2
Investments in affiliated enterprises and participating interests 36 12 0
Shares in affiliated enterprises and participating interest 36 12 1
Debt securities issued by, and loans to, affiliated enterprises and to enterprises with which an insurance enterprise is linked by the virtue of a participating interest 36 12 2
Investments in affiliated enterprises and participating interests (current value) 36 12 3
Other financial investments 36 13 0
Shares and other variable-yield securities and units in unit trusts 36 13 1
Debt securities and other fixed-income securities 36 13 2
Participation in investment pools 36 13 3
Loans guaranteed by mortgages 36 13 4
Other loans 36 13 5
Other (including deposits with credit institutions) 36 13 6
Other financial investments (current value) 36 13 8
Deposits with ceding enterprises 36 14 0
Investments for the benefit of life-assurance policyholders who bear the investment risk 36 20 0
Investments for the benefit of life-assurance policyholders who bear the investment risk — land and buildings 36 21 0
Investments for the benefit of life-assurance policyholders who bear the investment risk — other financial investments 36 22 0
Balance sheet total 36 30 0
Total capital and reserves 37 10 0
Total capital and reserves, broken down by legal status 37 10 1
Subscribed capital or equivalent funds 37 11 0
Share premium account, revaluation reserve, reserve 37 12 0
Subordinated liabilities 37 20 0
Total net technical provisions 37 30 1
Gross provision for unearned premiums 37 31 0
Gross life assurance provision 37 32 0
Gross provision for outstanding claims 37 33 0
Gross provision for outstanding claims, related to direct business 37 33 1
Gross provision for outstanding claims related to direct business, by (sub)category of the CPA (5-digit level) and subcategories 66.03.21 and 66.03.22) 37 33 3
Gross provision for bonuses and rebates 37 34 0
Equalisation provision 37 35 0
Gross other technical provisions 37 36 0
Gross technical provisions for life-assurance policies where the investment risk is borne by the policyholders 37 37 0
Debenture loans 37 41 0
Amounts owed to credit institutions 37 42 0
Number of contracts outstanding at the end of the accounting year, relating to direct business for all individual life insurance contracts and for the following subcategories of the CPA: 66.01.1, 66.03.1, 66.03.4 and 66.03.5 39 10 0
Number of insured persons at the end of the accounting year, relating to direct business for all group life insurance contracts and for the following subcategory of the CPA: 66.03.1 39 20 0
Number of insured vehicles at the end of the accounting year, relating to direct business, for the following subcategory of the CPA: 66.03.2 39 30 0
Gross insured sum at the end of the accounting year, relating to direct business, for the following subcategories of the CPA: 66.01.1 and 66.01.4 39 40 0
Number of claims incurred during the accounting year, relating to direct business, for the following subcategory of the CPA: 66.03.2 39 50 0
 3.8. Type of insurance enterprise or insurance business 


Type of insurance enterprise or insurance business Code
Life insurance enterprises 1
Non-life insurance enterprises 2
Composite insurance enterprises 3
Specialist reinsurance enterprises 4
Life business of composite insurance enterprises 5
Non-life business of composite insurance enterprises (including business accepted) 6
 3.9. Size classes / Residence of parent enterprise 

Size class by gross premiums written (million EUR) Code
< 5 SC11
5 - 50 SC12
51 - 250 SC13
251 - 500 SC14
501 - 1 000 SC15
1 000 + SC16Size class by gross technical provisions written (million EUR) Code
< 50 SC21
50 - 500 SC22
501 - 2 500 SC23
2 501 - 5 000 SC24
5 001 - 10 000 SC25
10 000 + SC26Country of residence of the parent enterprise Code
Parent enterprise situated in the home Member State RE01
Parent enterprise situated in other countries RE02 3.10. Breakdown of products 


Products Code
Non-linked life insurance services 66.01.1
Linked life insurance services 66.01.2
Tontine insurance services 66.01.3
Capital redemption insurance services 66.01.4
Other life insurance services 66.01.5
Group pension services 66.02.1
Accident and health insurance services 66.03.1
Motor vehicle insurance services 66.03.2
Motor vehicle insurance services, third party liability 66.03.21
Motor vehicle insurance services, other classes 66.03.22
Marine, aviation and transport insurance services 66.03.3
Fire and other damage to property insurance services 66.03.4
General liability insurance services 66.03.5
Credit and suretyship insurance services 66.03.6
Assistance, legal expenses and miscellaneous financial loss insurance services 66.03.7
Other non-life insurance services 66.03.8
 3.11. Legal status / Geographical breakdown 

Legal status Code
Incorporated enterprises limited by shares LS01
Mutual enterprises LS02
Branches of non-EEA enterprises LS03
Others LS04Countries and groups of countries Code
BelgiqueBelgië BEL
България BGR
Česká republika CZE
Danmark DNK
Deutschland DEU
Eesti EST
Ελλάδα GRC
España ESP
France FRA
Ireland IRL
Italia ITA
Κύπρος CYP
Latvija LVA
Lietuva LTU
Luxembourg LUX
Magyarország HUN
Malta MLT
Nederland NLD
Österreich AUT
Polska POL
Portugal PRT
România ROU
Slovenija SVN
Slovensko SVK
SuomiFinland FIN
Sverige SWE
United Kingdom GBR
Island ISL
Liechtenstein LI
Norge NOR
SchweizSuisseSvizzera CHE
USA USA
Japan JPN
In Member State of head office MSHO
In other EU Member State OMS
In other EEA countries OEEA
In other third countries (rest of the world) THCO 3.12. Data value 

Monetary data is expressed in millions of national currency units except for:

— Italydata is given in milliards of national currency units.

In order to be precise about the nature of the data, it is necessary to distinguish the following cases:

— data equal to zero (coded ‘0’)real values of zero only,— confidential data (coded ‘x’)indicates data which the Member State does not transmit to Eurostat because the data is confidential. A flag should also be used to indicate that the data is missing due to confidentiality (see 3.14 below),— missing data (coded ‘m’)this is data which is currently missing but the Member State intends to supply when available,— data not availablethis is data which is not collected in a Member State. In this case the corresponding record is not sent.

By default, if an entire dimension (a variable, a NUTS code, a NACE code, etc.) is not collected then the corresponding records will not exist except for those which are missing because they form part of a regrouping of NACE codes. This is why it is important to distinguish data which is really missing by supplying a record (one per missing item) in which the data value is coded as ‘m’.
 3.13. Quality flag 


Data type Code
Revised data R
Updated data M
Provisional data P

‘Revised data’ refers to data which are sent for a second (or more) time and are corrections of data which has been previously sent.

‘Updated data’ concerns data which was not previously available and was coded as missing in the data value field (see 3.12 above) but has since become available.

The flag indicating ‘Provisional data’ should be used in order to indicate that it is likely that the data being transmitted may be corrected.
 3.14. Confidentiality 

Member States are asked to clearly indicate confidential data using the flags listed below:


 Countries which cannot send confidential data are asked to set the value to ‘x’ (see 3.12 above) and to indicate using a flag that the data is missing due to confidentiality.
Reason for confidentiality Flag
Too few enterprises A
One enterprise dominates the data B
Two enterprises dominate the data C
Confidential data due to secondary confidentiality D
 3.15. Dominance 

A numeric value less than or equal to 100. This indicates the percentage dominance of one or two enterprises which dominate the data and make it confidential. The value is rounded to the nearest whole number: e.g. 90,3 becomes 90, 94, 50 becomes 95. This field is blank for non-confidential data. This field is only used when the confidentiality flags B or C are used in the previous field.
 3.16. List 

The variables — characteristics — are presented in Regulation (EC) No 410/98 in two different lists: A and B. The first year of reference for which they shall be compiled differs. Three variables are optional.


List Flag
List A A
List B B
Optional O

4. Examples of records 
Example 1 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Series Year Territorial Unit Economic activity Measurment Unit Variable Type of enterprise Size class/Residence Products Legal status, geographical breakdown Data value Quality flag Confidentiality flag Dominance List
5A 1996 BE 6603 NBR UNIT 11110 2    95    A

Belgium declares in the series 5A — annual enterprise statistics — for the reference year 1996, in NACE Rev.1 class 66.03: 95 non-life insurance enterprises. The data is non confidential and in List A.

5A; 1996; BE; 6603; NBR; UNIT; 11110; 2;;;; 95;;;; A
Example 2 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Series Year Territorial Unit Economic activity Measurment Unit Variable Type of enterprise Size class/Residence Products Legal status, geographical breakdown Data value Quality flag Confidentiality flag Dominance List
5B 1996 DK 6601 NBR UNIT 11111 1   LS01 49    A

Denmark declares in the series 5B — annual enterprise statistics broken down by legal status — for the reference year 1996, in NACE Rev.1 class 66.01: 49 life insurance enterprises which are incorporated enterprises limited by shares. The data is non confidential and in List A.

5B; 1996; DK; 6601; NBR; UNIT; 11111; 1;;; LS01; 49;;;; A
Example 3 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Series Year Territorial Unit Economic activity Measurment Unit Variable Type of enterprise Size class/Residence Products Legal status, geographical breakdown Data value Quality flag Confidentiality flag Dominance List
5C 1996 PT 6601 NBR UNIT 11115 1 RE02   47    A

Portugal declares in the series 5C — annual enterprise statistics broken down by country of residence of the parent enterprise — for the reference year 1996, in NACE Rev.1 class 66.01: 47 life insurance enterprises whose parent enterprises are situated in other countries. The data is non confidential and in list A.

5C; 1996; PT; 6601; NBR; UNIT; 11115; 1; RE02;;; 47;;;; A
Example 4 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Series Year Territorial Unit Economic activity Measurment Unit Variable Type of enterprise Size class/Residence Products Legal status, geographical breakdown Data value Quality flag Confidentiality flag Dominance List
5D 1996 FI 6603 NBR UNIT 11112 2 SC14   7    A

Finland declares in the series 5D — annual enterprise statistics broken down by size classes — for the reference year 1996, in NACE Rev.1 class 66.03: 7 non-life insurance enterprises whose turnover is falling between EUR 251 and 500 million. The data is non confidential and in List A.

5D; 1996; FI; 6603; NBR; UNIT; 11112; 2; SC14;;; 7;;;; A
Example 5 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Series Year Territorial Unit Economic activity Measurment Unit Variable Type of enterprise Size class/Residence Products Legal status, geographical breakdown Data value Quality flag Confidentiality flag Dominance List Footnoote
5E 1996 ES 6601 NC MIO 33111 1  66011  1410692    A Including life business of composite enterprises

Spain declares in the series 5E — annual enterprise statistics broken down by product — for the reference year 1996, in NACE Rev.1 class 66.01: ESP 1 410 692 million of gross direct premiums written in non-linked insurance services by life insurance enterprises. This data is non confidential and in List A.

5E; 1996; ES; 6601; NC; MIO; 33111; 1;; 66011;; 1410692;;;; A
Example 6 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Series Year Territorial Unit Economic activity Measurment Unit Variable Type of enterprise Size class/Residence Products Legal status, geographical breakdown Data value Quality flag Confidentiality flag Dominance List
5F 1996 CH 6601 NC MIO 34311 1  66021 NLD 302    A

Switzerland declares in the series 5F — geographical breakdown of annual enterprise statistics — for the reference year 1996, in NACE Rev.1 class 66.01: CHF 302 million of gross direct premiums written via branches in the Netherlands by life insurance enterprises in the product group pension services. This data is non confidential and in List A.

5F; 1996; CH; 6601; NC; MIO; 34311; 1;; 66021; NLD; 302;;;; A


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Series Year Territorial Unit Economic activity Measurment Unit Variable Type of enterprise Size class/Residence Products Legal status, geographical breakdown Data value Quality flag Confidentiality flag Dominance List
5F 2000 ES 6604 NC MIO 34120 4   OMS M    B

Spain declares in the series 5F — geographical breakdown of annual enterprise statistics — for the reference year 2000, in NACE Rev.1 class 66.04: ESP million missing data of gross reinsurance premiums accepted, written by specialist reinsurance enterprises in other Member States. This data is non confidential ans in List B.

5F; 2000; ES; 6604; NC; MIO; 34120; 4;;; OMS; M;;;; B

5. Type of magnetic media 

In order to facilitate reading the data, the data must be supplied on 3,5″ diskette.

6. Other methods 

Member States are encouraged to send the data sets via Gesmes.

Upon written request Eurostat can provide Member States with electronic questionnaires using Microsoft Excel. The request should be made well in advance of the planned date of data delivery.
