EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, XXX COM(2012) 360 ... - BVVM

Member States to provide for rules to ensure that such conflicts do not adversely affect
the interests of the customer.
(30) Consumers should be provided in advance with clear information about the status of
the persons who sell the insurance product and about the remuneration which they
receive. There is a need to introduce a mandatory status disclosure for European
insurance intermediaries and insurance undertakings. This information should be given
to the consumer at the pre-contractual stage. Its role is to show the relationship
between the insurance undertaking and the intermediary (where applicable) as well as
the structure and the content of the intermediaries' remuneration.
(31) In order to mitigate conflicts of interest between the seller and the buyer of an
insurance product, it is necessary to ensure sufficient disclosure of remuneration of
insurance distributors. Accordingly, for life insurance products, the intermediary and
the employee of the insurance intermediary or the insurance undertaking should be
obliged to inform the customer about its remuneration, in advance of the sale. For
other insurance products, subject to a transitional period of 5 years, the customer must
be informed of the customer's right to request this information, which must be
provided to the customer upon request.
(32) In order to provide a customer with comparable information on the insurance
mediation services provided regardless of whether the customer purchases through an
intermediary, or directly from an insurance undertaking, and to avoid the distortion of
competition by encouraging insurance undertakings to sell direct to customers rather
than via intermediaries in order to avoid information requirements, insurance
undertakings should also be required to provide information about remuneration to
customers with whom they deal directly in the provision of insurance mediation
services about the remuneration they receive for the sale of insurance products.
(33) As the current proposal aims to enhance consumer protection, some of its provisions
are only applicable in "business to consumer" (B2C) relationships, especially those
which regulate conduct of business rules of insurance intermediaries or of other sellers
of insurance products.
(34) In order to avoid mis-selling cases, if necessary, the sale of insurance products should
be accompanied with honest and professional advice.
2002/92/EC recital 18 (adapted)
(35) It is essential for the customer to know whether he/she is dealing with an intermediary
who is advising him the customer on products from a broad range of insurance
undertakings or on products provided by a specific number of insurance undertakings.
2002/92/EC recital 20 (adapted)
new
(36) Due to the increasing dependence of consumers on personal recommendations, it is
appropriate to include a definition of advice. Before advice is provided, the insurance
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