Insurance Europe has today published its response to a consultation by the European Commission on a revision of the electronic identification and trust services (eIDAS) Regulation, which aims to enable secure and seamless digital interactions between citizens, businesses and the public sector.

Digital identities and the associated processes of authentication and authorisation are an essential component of the digital single market and of national and European economies. Insurance Europe therefore believes that the scope of the existing eIDAS Regulation should be extended to the private sector to provide a level playing field for electronic identification.

The use of electronic identification to access online public services across borders can simplify the administrative procedure, save time and money, and offer greater certainty as to the authenticity of a user’s identity. However, factors such as a lack of awareness and trust, as well as the limited number and scope of such schemes, currently limit their cross-border use.

Insurance Europe supports a single and universally accepted European digital identity scheme to allow individuals to securely identify themselves online, especially in a cross-border context. However, it also notes the importance of ensuring that this runs complementary to existing national publicly issued electronic identities.

Insurance Europe therefore welcomes the Commission’s efforts to improve the effectiveness of the eIDAS Regulation, extend its benefits to the private sector and promote trusted digital identities for all Europeans.