On 13 July 2010, the CEA (the European insurance and reinsurance federation) published a position paper on the revision of the Insurance Meditation Directive (“IMD”). In particular, the paper provides the CEA’s preliminary views on the European Commission’s questions raised to the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (“CEIOPS”) in its request for advice regarding the revision of the IMD dated January 2010.
On the key question of the form of how the reforms should be implemented, the paper states that:
“The CEA...considers that a classic directive, such as the current one, can provide for an adequate degree of flexibility and at the same time is detailed enough to allow for targeted full harmonisation. If changes to the current IMD are necessary, it should be done through a revision of its provisions, under the current legal framework, and not through a directive. Repealing the current directive may cause legal uncertainty for professionals who are just becoming familiar with its provisions.”
The paper provides further detailed feedback on the seventeen questions raised by the European Commission to CEIOPS and explores, amongst others, the following topics:
- how the revised IMD should be structured under the new supervisory framework;
- what should be the scope of insurance mediation covered by the revised IMD;
- what high-level requirements on knowledge and ability of insurance intermediaries would be appropriate; and
- what high-level principles should be adopted for the effective management of conflicts of interest.
To view the full CEA position paper, please click here.
