Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added(b) where the insurance contract is proposed under the right of establishment or the freedom to provide services, the Member State in which the head office of the insurance undertaking and, where appropriate, the branch proposing the contract is located;

Added(c) the address of the head office and, where appropriate, of the branch proposing the contract;

Added(d) information that the insurance undertaking is authorised pursuant to Article 14 of Directive 2009/138/EC, the national competent authority which granted the authorisation and the means for verifying the authorisation;

Added(e) a reference to the report on solvency and financial condition as laid down in Article 51 of Directive 2009/138/EC. allowing the customer easy access to this information.

Added2. Where the insurance contract is proposed by an insurance intermediary, that insurance intermediary shall, in good time before the customer is bound by the contract or offer, communicate the following additional information to the customer:

Added(a) the name of the insurance intermediary, its legal form and address and the fact that it is an insurance intermediary;

Added(b) where the insurance intermediary is acting under the right of establishment or the freedom to provide services, the Member State in which the head office of the insurance intermediary and, where appropriate, the branch proposing the contract is located;

Added(c) whether the insurance intermediary provides advice about the proposed insurance contract;

Added(d) the procedures referred to in Article 14 enabling customers and other interested parties to register complaints about insurance intermediaries and about the out-of-court complaint and redress procedures referred to in Article 15;

Added(e) the register in which the insurance intermediary has been included and the means for verifying that it has been registered;

Added(f) whether the insurance intermediary is representing the customer or is acting for and on behalf of the insurance undertaking.

Added3. Where the insurance contract is proposed by an insurance undertaking, that insurance undertaking shall, in good time before the customer is bound by the contract or offer, communicate the following additional information to the customer:

Added(a) the name of the insurance undertaking, its legal form and address, and the fact that it is an insurance undertaking, insofar as this has not already been communicated in accordance with paragraph 1, point (a);

Added(b) whether it provides advice about the proposed insurance contract;

Added(c) the procedures referred to in Article 14 enabling customers and other interested parties to register complaints about insurance undertakings and about the out-of-court complaint and redress procedures referred to in Article 15;

Added(d) information that the insurance undertaking is authorised pursuant to Article 14 of Directive 2009/138/EC, the national competent authority which granted the authorisation and the means for verifying the authorisation, unless this has already been communicated in accordance with paragraph 1, point (d);

Added(e) whether the insurance undertaking is the manufacturer of the proposed contract or whether it is distributing the proposed contract on behalf of another insurance undertaking.’;

Added(12) Article 19 is amended as follows:

Added(a) the title is replaced by the following:

Added‘Disclosures’;

Added(b) paragraph 1 is amended as follows:

Added(i) the introductory wording is replaced by the following:

Added‘Member States shall ensure that in good time before the customer is bound by an insurance contract or offer, an insurance intermediary provides the customer with at least the following information:’;

Added(ii) in point (c), the introductory wording is replaced by the following:

Added‘in relation to insurance products other than insurance-based investment products, whether:’;

Added(iii) point (d) is replaced by the following:

Added‘(d) the nature of the remuneration received in relation to the insurance contract, in particular whether it works:

Added(i) on the basis of a fee, that is the remuneration paid directly by the customer;

Added(ii) on the basis of a commission of any kind, that is the remuneration included in the insurance premium;

Added(iii) on the basis of any other type of remuneration, including an economic benefit of any kind offered or given in connection with the insurance contract; or

Added(iv) on the basis of a combination of any type of remuneration set out at points (i), (ii) and (iii).’;

Added(iv) point (e) is deleted;

Added(c) paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

Added‘4. Member States shall ensure that in good time before the customer is bound by an insurance contract or offer, an insurance undertaking communicates to its customer the nature of the remuneration received by its employees in relation to the insurance contract.’;

Added(13) Article 20 is amended as follows:

Added(a) in paragraph 1, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

Added‘1. In good time before the customer is bound by an insurance contract or offer, the insurance distributor shall specify, on the basis of information obtained from the customer, the demands and the needs of that customer and shall provide the customer with objective information about the insurance product in a comprehensible form to allow that customer to make an informed decision.’;

Added(b) paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 are replaced by the following:

Added‘3. Where an insurance intermediary distributing insurance products other than insurance-based investment products informs the customer that it gives its advice on the basis of a fair and personal analysis, it shall give that advice on the basis of an analysis of a sufficiently large number of insurance contracts available on the market to enable it to make a personal recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which insurance contract would be adequate to meet the customer’s needs.

Added4. In good time before the customer is bound by an insurance contract or offer, whether or not advice is given and irrespective of whether the insurance product is part of a package pursuant to Article 24 of this Directive, the insurance distributor shall provide the customer with the relevant information about the insurance product in a comprehensible form to allow the customer to make an informed decision, while taking into account the complexity of the insurance product and the type of customer.

Added5. In relation to the distribution of non-life insurance products as listed in Annex I to Directive 2009/138/EC and to life insurance products as listed in Annex II to Directive 2009/138/EC other than insurance-based investment products, and other than life insurance products within the meaning of Article 2(1), point (17), (c) to (e), the information referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall be provided to retail customers by way of a standardised insurance product information document on paper or on another durable medium.’;

Added(c) paragraph 8 is amended as follows:

Added(i) the introductory wording is replaced by the following:

Added'For non-life insurance products, the insurance product information document shall contain the following information:’;

Added(ii) the following point (j) is added:

Added‘(j) the law applicable to the contract where the parties do not have a choice of law or, where the parties can choose the law applicable to the contract, the law that the insurance undertaking proposes to choose, and the competent jurisdiction.’;

Added(d) the following paragraph 8a is inserted:

Added‘8a. For life insurance products other than insurance-based investment products and other than life insurance products within the meaning of Article 2(1), point (17), (c) to (e), the insurance product information document shall contain the following:

Added(a) information about the type of insurance;

Added(b) a summary of the insurance cover, including details of the insurance benefits and options and the circumstances that would trigger them, and, where applicable, a summary of the excluded risks;

Added(c) the means of payment of premiums and the duration of payments;

Added(d) information on the premiums for each benefit, both main benefits and supplementary benefits, where applicable;

Added(e) where applicable, the means of calculation and distribution of bonuses;

Added(f) main exclusions where claims cannot be made;

Added(g) obligations at the start of the contract;

Added(h) obligations during the term of the contract;

Added(i) obligations in the event that a claim is made;

Added(j) an indication of surrender and paid-up values and the extent to which they are guaranteed;

Added(k) information on the right of cancellation pursuant to Article 186 of Directive 2009/138/EC, in particular details on the time-limitations and conditions for the exercise of that right;

Added(l) general information on the tax rules applicable to the type of insurance policy;