| Author (Person) | Bounds, Andrew |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Financial Times |
| Series Details | 27.9.07 |
| Publication Date | 27/09/2007 |
| Content Type | News |
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The European Commission adopted 25 September 2007 the final report of the competition inquiry on the business insurance sector. Building on the interim report of January 2007, a wide public consultation and extensive further fact-finding, the final report raises concerns about the operation of two areas of business insurance. First, long-standing and widespread industry practices in the reinsurance and coinsurance markets involving the alignment of premiums, which may lead to higher prices for large risk commercial insurance. The report leaves open the question of whether these constitute infringements of the prohibition on restrictive business practices (Article 81), but invites the industry either to justify the business practices concerned under the competition rules, or to reform them. Second, the Commission also confirms its concerns as to transparency of remuneration and conflicts of interest in insurance brokerage which may inflate prices and reduce choice, in particular for SMEs. The Commission will further explore this issue during the review of the Insurance Mediation Directive |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry, Internal Markets |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
