Stampa

RC AUTO


PRESS RELEASE



PRESS RELEASE


An investigation has been opened into 15 insurance companies to ascertain whether an agreement exists for the sale of third-party motor car insurance and fire and theft policies

The Competition Authority has opened an investigation into 15 insurance companies to see whether their general policy to provide fire and theft cover only in conjunction with the compulsory third-party liability policy constitutes an agreement prohibited by section 2(1) of the Competition Act. More specifically, the investigation is designed to ascertain the existence of parallel conduct, under which the sale of one product is conditional on the sale of the second product, which could facilitate the coordination of the motor vehicle fire and theft insurance market, such that premiums are kept higher than would normally be the case on a fully competitive market.

These 15 companies, which account for 60% of the motor vehicle third-party and road vehicle insurance market, are: Generali, Assitalia, Axa, Bayerische, Levante Norditalia, Lloyd Adriatico, Lloyd Italico, Milano, Sai, Sara, Reale Mutua, Toro, Unipol, Winterthur e Zurigo. These companies have been selected to include, for each insurance group, the company which collected the largest number of premiums in 1997 on the mandatory civil liability third-party insurance market.

The investigation is scheduled for completion by 31 May 2000.

Rome, 21 September 1999