EIOPA publishes Consumer Trends Report

04 December 2013

The aim of this report is to identify any possible vulnerabilities in the relevant markets which could provide the basis for targeted policy proposals. However, Insurance Europe has said the report's conclusions are 'questionable'.

An increase in the number of insurers which are installing telematics - known as “black box” technology - to record variables such as a car’s location and speed, the addition of various underlying funds to unit-linked policies or the embedding of guarantees in the policies in order to attract consumers, or the increase in the development by business firms of new channels for sales and marketing were just some of the interesting findings of the Consumer Trends Report  by EIOPA.

Since the beginning of 2013, EIOPA has been approaching NSAs requesting information for 2012 as outlined in this report which identifies key issues in the area of consumer protection and financial innovation and highlights the trends and the areas for further potential investigation. Whilst not providing a complete picture of all relevant risks, this report identifies the following ‘top’ trends which may warrant further investigation, from a consumer protection perspective:

• New or evolving channels for sales and marketing including social media, increasing advertising especially via the Internet, and the rise in the use of comparison websites;
• Issue of the lack of or misleading disclosure of information, and poor advice given to consumers, potentially leading to the misselling of various insurance products in particular life products such as unit-linked products;
• New or emerging products, for example cell phone insurance and packaged bank accounts bundled with the sale of insurance;
• Sale of complex products to retail investors and governance rules for the development of these products;
• Unilateral changes in the terms of the contracts by insurance undertakings and intermediaries; and
• Use of telematics (also known as ‘black box’ technology) by insurers in the sale of motor insurance.

Full report

---

Insurance Europe comment: Questionable conclusions in EIOPA consumer trends report

The Consumer Trends report published today by EIOPA appears based on anecdotal evidence and undefined methodology, making it impossible to draw accurate and meaningful conclusions about the sale and purchase of insurance products in the EU.

As EIOPA acknowledges, since this is its first year of gathering quantitative information from national supervisors, it was “not possible to establish an informed pattern” or “a complete picture”.

Press release

© EIOPA