The National Insurance Institute (Instituto Nacional de Seguros or INS) is an autonomous institution, which was responsible for
Costa Rican
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
insurance monopoly in that country until 2008, when insurances were opened to a competitive market.
The agency offers to all people in Costa Rica a wide range of insurance products and services in addition to projecting a strong social benefit programs to people in many different fields.
With close to 100 years of existence, the National Insurance Institute has an obligation to meet the insurance needs of its customers. In addition to selling insurance, it has managed the Fire Department, health services and has joined a network of medical facilities throughout the country.
History
It was created by Act No.12 of October 30, 1924 with the aim of meeting the protection needs of Costa Rican society.
Some of the most renowned statesmen of the period were responsible for its creation including
Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno
Romualdo Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno (February 6, 1859 – January 4, 1945) served as president of Costa Rica on three occasions: 1910–1914, 1924–1928 and 1932–1936.
He was one of the best known lawyers in Costa Rican history and a Universi ...
, President of the Republic on three occasions and
Tomás Soley Güell, Secretary of Finance and Commerce, in his third administration.
It began operations as Bank Insurance and in 1948 changed the name to National Insurance Institute.
Controversies
During the period 1999 and 2002 the insurance broker,
PWS International Ltd made 41 corrupt payments totalling $1,982,231 to officials employed by INS and the national electricity and telecommunications provider
Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad
Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad ( en, Costa Rican Institute of Electricity) (ICE) is the Costa Rican government-run electricity and telecommunications services provider. Together with the Radiographic Costarricense SA (RACSA) and Compañ ...
(ICE). As a result, in 2010 a PWS executive was imprisoned in the UK for his part in authorising the corrupt payments.
In December 2011,
Aon Corporation
Aon PLC () is a British-American multinational financial services firm that sells a range of risk-mitigation products, including Commercial Risk, Investment, Wealth and Reinsurance solutions, as well as boutique strategy consulting through Aon ...
, a US insurance brokerage firm headquartered in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, admitted violations of the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) (, ''et seq.'') is a United States federal law that prohibits U.S. citizens and entities from bribing foreign government officials to benefit their business interests.
The FCPA is applicable world ...
(FCPA) in relation to funds that
Aon Corporation
Aon PLC () is a British-American multinational financial services firm that sells a range of risk-mitigation products, including Commercial Risk, Investment, Wealth and Reinsurance solutions, as well as boutique strategy consulting through Aon ...
had provided to INS officials between 1997 and 2005 for expenses which were not related to a legitimate business purpose, such as travel with spouses to overseas tourist destinations.
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