ABOUT
Yani R. Contreras is an attorney licensed in Mexico and a consultant at Carlton Fields. Her practice is primarily focused on the areas of insurance, financial services and corporate law. Ms. Contreras has extensive experience in life insurance and annuities, including variable products, health insurance, P&C, travel insurance, surplus lines and reinsurance. Ms. Contreras has participated in regulatory advice relating:
- The Florida Alien Insurance Act that allows foreign insurers to sell life and health products in Florida to non U.S. persons.
- Regulatory compliance by insurance intermediaries in connection with the distribution of U.S. domestic and offshore products and the design of compensation schemes under state law.
- Development of guidelines for the sale of U.S. life insurance policies to foreign nationals, assessment due to foreign national’s country of residence, and the use of foreign entities in connection with the purchase of U.S. life insurance policies.
- Money laundering issues arising in connection with sale of a U.S. life policy to foreign nationals, including payments to a U.S. insurance company from an offshore trust or other company from a bank account in a foreign financial institution.
- Compliance of private placement life insurance products under federal securities laws.
Ms. Contreras also focuses on insurance regulatory matters including offshore transactions and foreign regulatory compliance, with an emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and some Asian countries, including the determination of whether residents of certain countries may be allowed to purchase offshore insurance products outside of his/her country of residence. She also has advised foreign insurance companies in connection with tax issues that may arise in connection with the sale of offshore products, and tax amnesty programs that have been implemented in Latin America.
Ms. Contreras also has experience with other transactional work in Latin America, including cross-border and financing transactions, with a particular focus on Mexico. She has assisted with advising United States and foreign companies in the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and FCPA compliance matters, as well as U.S. and international anti-money laundering requirements.
Before joining the firm, Ms. Contreras practiced as a foreign attorney and consultant in two major U.S. law firms, one with an office in Mexico, and prior to holding that position, she was an associate in a well-recognized law firm in Mexico City.