The European Authority in charge of Insurance and Pensions - EIOPA - just issued discussion paper on conflicts of interest in direct and intermediated sales of insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) at the request of the European Commission. This consultation focuses on:
- the steps that insurance intermediaries or insurance undertakings might reasonably be expected to take to identify, prevent, manage and disclose conflicts of interest when carrying out insurance distribution activities;
- establishing appropriate criteria for determining the types of conflict of interest whose existence may damage the interests of the customers or potential customers of the insurance intermediary or insurance undertaking.
BETTER FINANCE has repeatedly advised the EU Authorities in the past that the conduct of business rules for financial intermediaries should be consistent and the same whatever financial product they sell to EU citizens: be it securities, investment funds, life insurance or pension saving products.
Therefore, BETTER FINANCE asks Regulators again – EIOPA in particular – to align those conduct of business rules with the more protective and transparent ones of MiFID I and II, in particular for clear, correct and not misleading information, for the disclosure requirements on past performance and on costs and charges, as well as for the prevention of conflicts of interests ("inducements").
The deadline for submitting comments on the EIOPA discussion paper is 22 July 2014. A further consultation on this draft technical advice will follow following this first round of feedback.
Please find here the template for insertion of comments.