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April 4, 2022
2022-0536

Italy publishes draft IVASS Regulation regarding online comparison system between insurance undertakings operating in Italy in the motor liability insurance sector

Executive summary

On 17 March 2022, IVASS (Italian Insurance Supervisory Authority) put out for public consultation the draft regulation on the implementation of an on-line comparison system between insurance companies operating in Italy in the motor liability insurance class (the Regulation), pursuant to articles 132-bis and 136, paragraph 3-bis, of Legislative Decree No. 209 of 7 September 2005 - Private Insurance Code (the CAP). The purpose of this Regulation is to set up an online comparison system for premiums under the "basic contract" offered by insurance companies operating in Italy in the motor liability class, to facilitate the comparison for users (PREVENTIVASS).

The new provisions contained in the draft Regulation have been drafted taking into account the numerous comments made by stakeholders during the first consultation of the Regulation which took place in 2021. In light of these comments, the text of the Regulation has been revised and supplemented and therefore a second public consultation was deemed appropriate, whereby IVASS has consulted again with market operators to take into account their needs, with the intention of further reducing the impact of the provisions and ensuring the objective of greater transparency for the protection of consumers.

Furthermore, IVASS specified that these provisions are applicable to insurance intermediaries authorized to distribute motor liability contracts registered in sections A), D) and F) of the RUI, as well as to those - authorized to distribute motor liability contracts - located in another Member State of the European Economic Area operating in Italy.

Any observations, comments and proposals must be sent to IVASS by 16 April 2022.

Detailed discussion

The main comments received during the first public consultation related to:

  • Applicability of the regulation only to the case of taking out a first motor liability insurance policy
  • The option for companies to offer "add-on" clauses to the basic contract
  • Validity of quotes
  • Subjective scope of application of the Regulation
  • Methods of access and accreditation to the New Estimator service by intermediaries and companies
  • Possible malfunctions

As noted, the revised draft Regulation reflects the comments from the first public consultation. Accordingly, the structure of the draft Regulation sets forth the following:

The FIRST PART of the draft Regulation contains general provisions relating to the regulatory sources, definitions and subjective and objective scope of application.

In particular, the Regulation applies: (i) to insurance companies with registered offices in Italy that carry on business in the motor liability insurance class, to the branches of insurance companies with registered offices in a non-European Economic Area member State that carry on business in Italy in the motor liability insurance class and to insurance companies with registered offices in another European Economic Area Member State that are admitted to operate in Italy in the motor liability insurance class and to insurance companies with head office in another member State of the European Economic Area admitted to operate in Italy under the regime of establishment or of freedom to provide services in the motor liability insurance class; (ii) to agent intermediaries on behalf of the above-mentioned companies registered in Sections A, D and F of the RUI and in the annexed list. The scheme of regulations applies to the quotation of the aforementioned basic motor liability contract, limited to passenger cars, motorbikes and mopeds for private use by the consumer.

Estimates for the basic motor liability contract relating to vehicles registered or insured abroad and to risks deriving from the circulation of fleets of vehicles are excluded from the regulation.

The SECOND PART concerns the methods of organization and operation of PREVENTIVASS and is divided into three Titles:

  • Title I, on general principles, specifies the purpose, access and operation of PREVENTIVASS, stating that it is a free and impartial online quote information service provided by MiSE1 and IVASS. Direct access to PREVENTIVASS is guaranteed to consumers and insurance intermediaries, by means of the companies' websites or through the institutional websites of MiSE and IVASS: on the one hand the intermediary will be able to show the consumer the premiums offered for the basic contract by the companies for which he is the agent, and on the other hand the consumer will be able to consult the quotation service directly by receiving the quotes of all the insurance companies operating in Italy in the motor liability sector.
  • Title II is made up of two Chapters:
    • Chapter I defines the obligations to be fulfilled by the insurance companies, including the guarantees of the scheme of the basic contract, the minimum guarantees necessary to fulfil the motor liability insurance obligation and the additional guarantees envisaged by MiSE decree no. 54 of 11th March 2020, which are offered by the insurance companies following free assessment; the technical, IT and organizational procedures necessary to implement the Regulation. Unlike the previous version of the Regulation, companies are required to ensure that the request made through PREVENTIVASS by the intermediary or the consumer is answered electronically within 30 seconds, and to integrate their IT systems with the subsequent versions of the system.
    • Chapter II defines the obligations of intermediaries and the manner in which they are to be carried out, as well as obligations relating to pre-contractual information and proper conduct.
  • Title III is made up of two Chapters and defines the characteristics of the quote (Chapter I) and the procedures for concluding the contract (Chapter II). With regard to the characteristics of the quote, PREVENTIVASS sends the request for an estimate to the companies according to the electronic form which contains, inter alia, any additional clauses requested by the consumer; the amount of the premium relating to the basic contract and the additional clauses; the tariff premium, including any commissions, the insurance tax, the contribution to the National Health Service and any discounts that the company may decide to apply. With regard to the contracting procedures, the companies may respond within five minutes of receiving the request by sending an error message. The quote, which is valid for sixty days, is applied at the rate in force on the effective date of the insurance cover for which the quote is requested. In order to standardize the operating procedures of the companies, a provision has been introduced to regulate the case where the effective date of the insurance cover is subsequent to the sixty-day validity period of the quote. In this case, the requested quote will only be for information purposes, without any obligation to conclude the contract under the conditions set out therein. Moreover, the operating procedures to be followed by the intermediary in fulfilling the legal obligation in the event of the unavailability of the application are also identified, as well as the control activities to be performed by IVASS in relation to the correctness and compliance of the estimates with the consumer's requests.

The THIRD PART, which contains the final provisions, is aimed at harmonizing the provisions on the validity of the estimate and introduces amendments to the rules on free personalized estimates at points of sale. Finally, it defines the procedures for the publication and entry into force of the Regulation.

ANNEX 1 reports on the conditions of operation of insurance companies and includes all the functionalities made available by PREVENTIVASS for the fulfilment of the requirements of the Regulation scheme.

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For additional information with respect to this Alert, please contact the following:

Studio Legale Tributario, Milan

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ENDNOTE

1 Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico: Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

 

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