First: it is technically an insurance broker registration, not a licence
Most prospective founders search Google for an “insurance broker licence in Singapore”, so we will use the term occasionally in this guide.
Technically, however, a company carrying on insurance broking business in Singapore generally applies to be registered as an insurance broker with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)[1] unless an exemption applies.
A company may be registered as:
- A direct insurance broker
- A general reinsurance broker
- A life reinsurance broker
- A combination of these categories
For many founders coming from the mainstream Singapore insurance distribution industry, the relevant starting point will be the direct insurance broker category.
A direct insurance broker can carry on insurance broking relating to general business and long-term accident and health policies[2].
If your proposed business also extends into financial advisory services, for example advising on or arranging life policies or certain investment products, the Financial Advisers Act also needs to be considered.
Registered insurance brokers can fall within the statutory exemption[3] from holding a separate financial adviser’s licence, and some registered insurance brokers therefore also operate as Exempt Financial Advisers.
The precise combination of activities should be mapped out before preparing the application.
Who normally starts an insurance brokerage?
One of the more common profiles we encounter is an experienced agency leader who has spent many years working within a major insurer.
This person may already have:
- A substantial number of years in insurance
- An established client portfolio
- Experience advising on insurance products
- Experience managing and coaching representatives
- A track record of building an agency team
- The necessary industry qualifications and representative experience
At some point, they want greater independence.
Instead of continuing to operate within one large insurer’s ecosystem, they want to establish their own regulated entity and build a broader insurance business.
For somebody with that background, proving that they understand insurance is normally not the hardest part.
The more important task is showing that their previous experience is relevant to the brokerage they now intend to operate, and that the new company has the resources, systems and governance needed to operate independently.
Does a new insurance brokerage need three years of track record?
This requirement sometimes causes unnecessary concern.
MAS’s guidelines[2] state that an applicant should generally have at least three years of proven track record for each type of insurance broking business it intends to conduct in Singapore.
But consider the obvious problem.
You’ve just incorporated a new company.
How can a company that was incorporated six months ago possibly have a three-year operating history?
MAS specifically addresses this situation.
Where the applicant itself does not satisfy the three-year track-record requirement, MAS may take into account[2]:
- The track record of the applicant’s substantial shareholders
- The experience and qualifications of key management personnel such as the CEO and executive directors
This means a newly incorporated brokerage is not automatically disqualified simply because the corporate entity itself has no three-year history.
However, we would not describe ten years working as an insurance agent as automatically being ten years of corporate insurance broking track record.
They are different things.
Instead, the application should explain how the founders’ and management team’s actual insurance experience supports the business the new company proposes to undertake.
What experience should the CEO and directors have?
MAS states that the CEO and executive directors should each have at least five years of relevant working experience[2].
The CEO should additionally have at least three years of managerial experience in the relevant field[2].
For many experienced agency leaders, this is one area where the application may be relatively straightforward.
Someone who has spent ten years advising insurance customers and five years leading an agency team is already bringing substantial insurance and management experience to the proposed brokerage.
But don’t simply submit a CV saying:
“Agency Manager, 2015 to 2026.”
Treat the MAS CV like you are applying for a senior job.
Explain what you actually did.
Useful details may include:
- The number of years you directly advised clients on insurance products
- The types of insurance products you handled
- The type and size of client portfolio you managed
- The number of representatives or staff you supervised
- Your years of managerial responsibility
- Your training and coaching responsibilities
- The client segments you served
- Meaningful and supportable business or premium volumes
- Claims or servicing experience
- Insurer and product relationships
- Relevant supervisory or regulatory responsibilities
For an applicant coming from a large insurance agency, the point is usually not to prove that insurance is completely unfamiliar to you.
It is to make the relationship between your previous experience and your future responsibilities as CEO or director of an independent brokerage easy for MAS to understand.
What financial resources does a direct insurance broker need?
For one category of insurance broking business, MAS’s current guidelines prescribe minimum paid-up share capital of S$300,000[4].
The corresponding minimum professional indemnity insurance coverage for one category is S$1 million[4].
The requirements increase where the applicant seeks registration for two or three categories of insurance broking business.
This means the founder should think beyond simply raising enough money to incorporate the company.
The business needs enough resources to:
- Meet the regulatory minimums
- Pay staff
- Obtain professional indemnity insurance
- Establish its systems
- Pay professional and compliance costs
- Continue operating while its revenue base develops
That last point matters.
An experienced insurance producer may have spent years thinking primarily about sales targets and commissions.
Running a regulated company adds an entirely different cost base.
The part founders sometimes underestimate: you now own the compliance problem
This is probably the bigger transition for an experienced agency leader.
Inside a large insurer, the organisation may already have dedicated teams handling compliance, risk management, regulatory reporting, complaints, training, internal controls and regulatory changes.
When you establish your own brokerage, those responsibilities do not disappear.
MAS expects the brokerage to maintain compliance systems and processes that are appropriate for the size and complexity of the business[2], together with proper controls for matters such as conflicts of interest.
A small brokerage does not need to recreate the compliance department of a multinational insurer, but it does need a clear way to manage regulatory submissions, policies, monitoring, staff requirements, breaches and regulatory changes[5].
This is where many new founders realise that getting registered was only the beginning.
Do I need an external compliance adviser?
MAS does not simply require every insurance broker to appoint an external compliance consultancy.
What matters is that the brokerage has adequate compliance arrangements for the business it intends to operate.
A larger firm may build more of this capability internally. A smaller brokerage may prefer to retain management responsibility while obtaining external support for areas such as regulatory tracking, policy reviews, compliance monitoring, regulatory submissions, staff training and technical regulatory advice.
For founders coming from an agency background, this can be particularly useful because they may already understand the sales and insurance side of the business very well, but have never previously had to run the compliance infrastructure themselves.
The responsibility still remains with the brokerage’s management[6].
What does MAS actually assess in the application?
MAS broadly looks at whether the proposed brokerage is credible, properly resourced and run by suitable people[1].
This includes:
- The applicant’s track record, financial soundness and reputation
- A business plan that makes sense for the proposed activities and risk profile
- The fitness and propriety of the applicant, directors, CEO, substantial shareholders and broking staff
- Adequate financial resources and professional indemnity insurance
- Appropriate governance, risk and compliance arrangements
For an experienced insurance founder, the application should therefore tell one consistent story.
The management team should have relevant experience, the proposed business should make commercial sense, the financial projections should be credible, and the company’s regulatory arrangements should support the business once it goes live.
That is more important than making the application look unnecessarily complicated.
Is getting an insurance broker licence in Singapore difficult?
For an experienced insurance professional with a genuine operating history, a credible management team and sufficient financial resources, there is no reason to treat an RIB application as some mysterious regulatory exercise.
MAS’s criteria are relatively understandable.
The bigger mistake is assuming:
“I’ve been selling insurance for 15 years, so everything else should take care of itself.”
Once you leave a large insurer and establish your own brokerage, you are no longer just responsible for selling insurance.
You are responsible for the regulated business behind the sales team.
And that includes the parts of the business that your previous employer may have handled for you.
MAS states that it expects to take not more than six months[1] to process a straightforward, complete application where the applicant fully satisfies the relevant criteria. More complex or incomplete applications can take longer.
So if you’re already an experienced insurance agency leader thinking about going independent, the sensible first step is not necessarily to start filling in MAS forms immediately.
It is to assess:
- Your proposed regulatory scope
- Your management team’s experience
- Your capital and financial resources
- Your business model
- Who will handle the regulatory and compliance functions once the company goes live
If those pieces make sense, the actual application becomes considerably easier to organise.
Thinking of starting your own insurance brokerage?
Advisors Assemble works with prospective registered insurance brokers on MAS registration and ongoing compliance arrangements.
We can help assess the proposed business model and management team, prepare the registration workplan and supporting regulatory documentation, and establish a practical compliance framework for the brokerage after approval.
For experienced insurance professionals, the objective is not to make the regulatory process more complicated than it needs to be.
It is to make sure that when you leave the infrastructure of a large insurer behind, the new brokerage has the regulatory infrastructure to stand on its own.
Important: This guide provides general regulatory information and does not constitute advice on a particular application. Requirements depend on the applicant’s proposed activities, management team, ownership, financial resources and business model.
Reviewed on 12 October 2026.
Sources
- [1]
Monetary Authority of Singapore, Insurance Broker Registration and Approval.
- [2]
Monetary Authority of Singapore, Criteria for the Registration of an Insurance Broker.
- [3]
Singapore Statutes Online, Financial Advisers Act 2001.
- [4]
Monetary Authority of Singapore, Insurance (Intermediaries) Regulations.
- [5]
Monetary Authority of Singapore, Compliance Toolkit for Insurance Brokers.
- [6]
Monetary Authority of Singapore, Guidelines on Outsourcing (Financial Institutions other than Banks).