RC AUTO
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
The investigation of third party car insurance is being broadened
The Competition Authority has broadened the scope of the current investigation of fifteen insurance companies which began on 8 September 1999 and has increased the number of insurance companies to be included in the inquiries. The purpose of the investigation is to ascertain whether there are is an exchange of information between numerous insurance companies via an external consultancy firm in the third party liability vehicle insurance branch of insurance, and whether this exchange of information constitutes an agreement prohibited under section 2 (1) of the Competition Act, 287/90.
In particular, during the course of the investigation into an alleged agreement entered into by a number of insurance companies documentation was found showing that numerous insurance companies had been submitting information on the commercial and contractual terms and conditions applied to their customers to a consultancy firm, R.C. Log srl. This firm re-processes the information which it receives in specifically designed monitoring units and then returns the processed information to the insurance companies. Re-processed in this manner, the information enables the insurance companies to compare their own commercial and contractual terms and conditions with those of all the other competing companies. Furthermore, the insurance companies are members of specific 'technical committees' set up by this firm. An exchange of information of this kind might indicate that broader agreements have been put in place between the insurance companies.
This investigation not only relates to the consultancy firm itself, but includes the following 28 insurance companies: Generali, Assitalia, Axa, Bayerische, Lloyd Adriatico, Lloyd Italico, Milano, Sai, Sara, Reale Mutua, Toro, Unipol, Winterthur, Zurigo, Allianz Subalpina, BNC, Commercial Union Insurance, Gan Italia, Helvetia, Il Duomo, Italiana, La Fondiaria, Mediolanum, Meie, Nuova Tirrena, RAS, Royal & Sunalliance e Vittoria.
The investigation will be completed by 31 July 2000.
Rome, 19 November 1999