WRITTEN QUESTION E-2947/01

by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 October 2001)

Subject: EU provisions for insurance brokers

1. To what extent is the process of European integration changing the requirements to be met in order to work as an insurance and financial services broker?

2. Is higher specialised insurance officer training in Germany (examined by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK)) adequate to enable a person to continue to work as a broker? To which authority can applications be made, if necessary, for certificates of equivalence? Should that training no longer be adequate, what transitional periods apply before other qualifications alone are accepted?

3. Who offers recognised qualifications or further training for insurance and financial services brokers?

4. What level of funds must be furnished in future to cover consequential loss liability insurance? Is a bank guarantee sufficient for this purpose?

5. Should an insurance and financial services broker not meet the new conditions governing brokerage work, how are business bases which have already been built up affected by the new provisions?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(28 November 2001)

As matters stand, Member States are not obliged to lay down professional requirements for persons taking up insurance brokering activities. Commission Recommendation 92/48/EEC of 18 December 1991 on insurance intermediaries(1) calls on Member States to establish such requirements and a register of insurance intermediaries. However, in so far as they exist, the requirements in force in the Member States have not yet been harmonised, creating obstacles to the taking up of those activities in the single market by virtue of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services. They also raise problems of transparency as regards the status and professional qualifications of insurance brokers, which does not help to ensure a high level of protection for policyholders.

This is why the Commission has presented a proposal for a Parliament and Council Directive on insurance mediation(2) with a view to coordinating the relevant national provisions. It provides for the registration of insurance intermediaries in their home Member State, provided that they meet professional requirements in relation to their competence, good repute, professional indemnity cover and financial capacity. Registration allows them to take up and pursue the activity of insurance intermediary anywhere in the Community, subject to supervision by the home Member State (Article 3-9), by virtue of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services. The proposal also sets out the information to be provided to policyholders (Articles 10-11).

The proposal requires insurance intermediaries to possess appropriate general, commercial and professional knowledge and ability. It falls to the intermediary's home Member State to determine the level and content of such knowledge, which must in all cases be sufficient to ensure an appropriate level of professional competence. It is also the Member States which determine the bodies that will be allowed to provide the training required under national law, pursuant to the Directive.

As regards professional indemnity cover, the proposal provides for a minimum level of insurance cover or an equivalent guarantee (such as a bank guarantee) of 1 million per claim. The intermediary is not required to take out professional indemnity cover if an insurance or reinsurance undertaking on whose behalf it is acting, or for which it is empowered to act, has provided this guarantee.

The proposal is currently being discussed in Parliament and the Council. Accordingly, the Commission is unable to inform the Honourable Member which bodies Germany will authorise to provide the training required for insurance brokers once the Directive has entered into force.

(1) OJ L 19, 28.1.1992.

(2) OJ C 29 E, 30.1.2001.