The proposal for the e-Privacy Regulation is currently being discussed by the Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU — and seeks to update privacy rules for the digital age...it may inadvertently hamper insurers’ ability to develop innovative new products
Insurance Europe has today published a paper on how the European
Commission’s proposal to revise the e-Privacy Directive can be improved to benefit
consumers and help to improve road safety.
The proposal for the e-Privacy Regulation is currently being
discussed by the three institutions — ie the Commission, the European
Parliament, and the Council of the EU — and seeks to update privacy rules for
the digital age. However, in its current form, it may inadvertently hamper
insurers’ ability to develop innovative new products, such as telematics-based
insurance, which helps to improve road safety by incentivising careful drivers
with lower premiums.
To offer telematics-based insurance policies, insurers
collect and process data from terminal equipment (ie, telematics boxes), which
will be regulated by article 8 of the new e-Privacy Regulation. Unfortunately,
neither the Commission’s proposal nor the European Parliament’s amendments
provide a sound legal basis on which this processing can continue. The lack of
a clear legal basis will eventually make it more difficult and riskier for
insurers to offer this type of innovative product to consumers. This would mean
less choice for consumers and a missed opportunity to increase road safety in
Europe.
To avoid this, Insurance Europe suggests that the
co-legislators should preserve the Council’s version of article (8)(1)(c) of
the e-Privacy Regulation, which would allow insurers to collect data as part of
telematics-based insurance, as it would constitute a service “specifically
requested by the end-user”. This article would provide a solid legal basis on
which insurers could continue to offer telematics-based insurance policies.
It is also vital that the co-legislators safeguard the
current interplay between the e-Privacy Directive and the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). The collection of data from terminal equipment,
which is currently regulated by the e-Privacy Directive, should remain
protected under the new e-Privacy Regulation, while any subsequent processing
of personal data should fall under the GDPR, as called for by the European Data
Protection Board.
paper
Insurance Europe
© InsuranceEurope
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