Aggregators and direct insurers included in European broker directive

Price comparison sites and direct insurers are now included in the new Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), formerly the Insurance Mediation Directive II (IMD II).

The political positions about the general policy wordings, who is in scope and what documents will be included in the IDD were approved earlier this week by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

The revised directive contains several amendments to the original IMD, including:

• the extension of the directive to cover aggregators and direct insurers
• a minimum CPD training requirement 
• the inclusion of a product information document - that will contain key facts about what is included in a policy and specifically excluded

But there will be no move towards mandatory disclosure of commissions.

Biba said it welcomed level playing field for customers.

Chief executive Steve White said: “Wherever a customer arranges their insurance – through a broker, insurer or comparison site, all disclosure requirements are identical.

“We welcome this level playing field approach following final trialogue negotiations between the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the European Commission. This brings in direct insurers and gives clarity around price comparison websites. It is good for customers.”

The full final text is expected to be published at the end of the year, with a two year implementation period from when the IDD is published.

Executive director Graeme Trudgill added: “We have long argued that customers should be entitled to the same suite of protection wherever they choose to buy their insurance.

“The scope of the IDD is broader than the current IMD, so it will bring into scope insurers, where they sell directly and will give much more clarity around price comparison sites who will be brought within scope.

“They are looking at a safety net for those sellers that still remain outside of scope, we are waiting to see the detail of what that looks like, but there will be less of them outside, going forward, than there have been till now.”

ABI director of regulation Hugh Savill said: “The agreement reached on the Insurance Distribution Directive is the result of several years of hard work and negotiations.

“We will be closely looking at the final details, in particular for the insurance product information document and its practical implications for our member companies and their customers.”