AUTOMOTIVE INSURERS in this country have committed themselves to ensuring equitable access to a claims database they own following an investigation into anti-competitive practices by the European Commission.
t comes after the EU Commission told Insurance Ireland last year that it had formed the preliminary view that it had violated competition rules in the car market.
Insurance Ireland insists it has not broken any rules, but has agreed to a number of legally binding obligations to open its fraud database to insurers wishing to enter this market.
Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president of the commission, which is in charge of competition policy, said the commission had now made the obligations offered by Insurance Ireland legally binding under EU antitrust rules.
Insurance Ireland is an association of Irish insurers.
The concession by Insurance Ireland to enter into legally binding commitments with the Commission comes after Commission officials in 2017 led dawn attacks on insurance bodies here over alleged cartel activities.
It then opened a formal investigation in May 2019. The latest development puts an end to the five-year investigation process.
The investigation focused on Insurance Ireland’s Insurance Link information exchange system.
This database is sometimes referred to as a fraud information system, but Insurance Ireland says it is a claims database.
Any insurer entering this market needs access to it. Allegations that access to it was restricted were fueled by the Commission’s investigation, an allegation always denied by Insurance Ireland.
Ms Vestager said the database contained important data for companies offering motor vehicle insurance services in Ireland.
“Insurance Ireland has offered commitments that will ensure access to its data sharing system on a fair, transparent, objective and non-discriminatory basis.”
She said the Commission had now made it binding.
“The commitments will restore the level playing field in the Irish car insurance market and facilitate the entry of new players.”
This will mean that consumers can benefit from a greater choice of suppliers.
She said the Commission last June set out its preliminary view that Insurance Ireland had arbitrarily delayed or denied practice of non-members access to its Insurance Link information exchange system, thus restricting competition in the Irish motor vehicle insurance market.
Insurance Ireland welcomed the end of the investigation of its claims database, insisting that the Commission had not made a finding of infringement by Insurance Ireland.
“The offer of the obligations is not an acknowledgment that Insurance Ireland has violated competition law and Insurance Ireland notes that the European Commission has not found that Insurance Ireland has violated competition law,” said Moyagh Murdock, chief executive of the organization.
She said the commitments provide for clear criteria and procedures regarding access to the InsuranceLink database.
“We have fully cooperated and worked constructively with the European Commission during the course of its inquiry to address concerns raised regarding InsuranceLink, and we are pleased that the Commission has decided to accept the commitments and complete its inquiry. to trade, “Ms Murdock said.
Insurance Ireland is committed to making access to Insurance Link independent of membership in Insurance Ireland.
It has also signed on to change the eligibility criteria for Insurance Link and to make it fair, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory for all applicants, from Ireland and other EU Member States.
It also agreed to ensure that the criteria for becoming a member of the Insurance Ireland Association would be fair, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory.