In 2022, the Portuguese insurance and pension funds supervisory ́authority, Autoridade de Supervisão de Seguros e Fundos de Pensões (ASF), celebrates its 40th anniversary, a milestone event commemorating both the Institution and the introduction to Portugal of a modern vision of supervision, in harmony with the evolution of supervised activity and operators.
This journey of almost four decades began with the creation of the Portuguese insurance institute, Instituto de Seguros de Portugal (ISP), founded in 1982 with the main aim of ensuring the coordination and inspection of insurance and reinsurance activities and their corresponding mediation and which, from 1985 on, also included in its sphere of activity the monitoring and inspection of pension funds instituted by public deed and managed by insurance companies authorised to conduct the business of Life insurance.
In 2015, Decree Law no.1/2015, of 6 January, adapted the statutes of the Instituto de Seguros de Portugal to the framework law of the regulatory bodies and changed the name of this supervisory authority to Autoridade de Supervisão de Seguros e Fundos de Pensões.
To mark this auspicious date, the ASF has organised a programme of activities throughout 2022, including a varied range of initiatives commemorating its journey and, at the same time, evoking the history of insurance in Portugal, as well as focusing on economic and societal debate, where inclusion and sustainability are strongly present.
A key and eloquently meaningful initiative was planned as part of the celebrations: the creation and issue by the CTT - Correios de Portugal of a commemorative postage stamp to mark 40 years of the ASF’s existence. This issue will be introduced into postal circulation and its cancellation will take place at ASF’s Annual Conference, an event that will be the culmination of the Authority’s celebrations, taking place on 17 November 2022, when the Institution’s 40th anniversary will be officially commemorated.
On its 40th anniversary, the ASF is reaffirming its commitment to the future, continuing independently and responsibly to ensure a well-functioning insurance and pension funds market in Portugal, promoting the sound and prudent management of the institutions under its supervision, as well as requiring the maintenance of the highest standards of conduct by operators, in order to guarantee the protection of policyholders, insured persons, participants and beneficiaries, as well as financial stability.
Margarida Corrêa de Aguiar
Chair of the ASF
