CEA lobbies for exemption renewal

The European Commission must renew the insurance block exemption rule that protects insurers from the full force of EU competition laws, the Comité Européen des Assurances (CEA) has argued, or put insurers in a position of legal uncertainty. In its response to the European Commission’s consultation paper on the block exemption rule, which is due to expire in 2010, the CEA said industry cooperation would cease without the legal certainty of the exemption which currently allows insurers to cooperate for joint calculations and studies, standard policy conditions and insurance pools without breaching EU competition laws. “A number of operators and associations have sent clear signals that, if the BER were to cease, they would seriously consider abandoning business cooperation for fear that such cooperation might be challenged by the competition authorities”, the CEA told the Commission.