WRITTEN QUESTION E-2947/01 by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission. EU provisions for insurance brokers.
Date: 2001-10-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: application of EU law, insurance occupation, organisation of professions, professional qualifications, third-party insurance

C 160 E/50

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

situation has shown that the legal shortcomings as such are not substantial and that in general claims are
usually settled within a reasonable timeframe. With regard to the specific case of a Belgian citizen it
appears that the available legal instruments should not be blamed as the reason for the long duration of
the procedure.

(1) Directive 2000/26/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 16 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of
the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and amending
Council Directive 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (Fourth motor insurance Directive), OJ L 181, 20.7.2000.

(2002/C 160 E/055)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2947/01

by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(25 October 2001)

Subject: EU provisions for insurance brokers

To what extent is the process of European integration changing the requirements to be met in order

1.
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 9 (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?

Should an insurance and financial services broker not meet the new conditions governing brokerage

5.
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).

4.7.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/51

requires

insurance intermediaries

to possess appropriate general, commercial and
The proposal
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.

(2002/C 160 E/056)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2958/01

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(25 October 2001)

Subject: List of judgements against Turkey by the European Court of Human Rights

In reply to my question H-727/2001 (1) to the Council concerning the ruling of the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) against Turkey for its continued detention of Leyla Zana and three other Members
of Parliament, the President of the Council said that ‘the Council does not have a list of the rulings of the
European Court of Human Rights which Turkey may have failed to observe’. Given that within the
partnership between the European Union and Turkey and the framework of enhanced political dialogue
there is an expectation that the decisions of the ECHR will be observed, as Parliament has also requested,
can the Commission make public a list of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights which
Turkey is not observing and transmit it to the Council of Ministers?

(1) Oral reply of 3.10.2001.

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2001)

Competence to supervise the observance of the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights is
vested in the competent organs of the Council of Europe, in particular, the Committee of Ministers of the
Organisation.

According to available information, the Committee of Ministers presently supervises the execution of some
230 cases against Turkey.

Only in one case, the Loizidou case, has the Committee of Ministers clearly and repeatedly declared that
Turkey refused to comply with the ruling of the European Court. In a number of other cases, the
Committee of Ministers has, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the slowness of execution and/or the
manner in which execution has been carried out. This is mainly linked with the absence of means in
Turkish law to erase the consequences of convictions having been found by the European Court to violate
the right to freedom of expression (Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights).