RAS-GENERALI/IAMA CONSULTING
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
THE COMPETITION AUTHORITY HAS BEGUN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE LIFE ASSURANCE BUSINESS OF RAS, GENERALI, ALLEANZA, GENERALI VITA, AND INA VITA.
At its meeting on 9 October 2003 the Competition Authority resolved to commence investigations into the Ras, Generali, Alleanza, Generali Vita, Ina Vita and IAMA companies to ascertain whether certain agreements concluded between them for supplying and consulting information on life assurance policies were anti-competitive.
The procedure began following the notification to the Authority of two contracts with the consultancy firm, IAMA Consulting, initialled respectively by Ras and Generali (on behalf of its subsidiaries Generali Vita, Alleanza and Ina Vita) for the supply of the same database containing sensitive data on the life assurance market.
The service to be provided by the consultancy firm was to supply access to its "Aequos" database containing information on policy sellers (the distribution channel), the conditions of insurance (age, minimum premium, etc.), the premium payment method, the costs to the insured, the features of the financial investments underlying the contract, regulations governing early surrender, the methods of paying the main and the optional benefits, and the features of any optional warranties.
Generali and Allianz (Ras group) are the first and the second largest life assurance companies in Italy, respectively, with market shares of about 23% and 14% of the whole life assurance market. In 2002, total premiums of euro 55.298 billion were invested in this market, on which there appears to be a high level of concentration, with substantial market entry barriers. There are only a small number of life assurance companies, with extremely large market shares, and a few small companies operating on the fringes.
This being so, the Authority considers that the notified contracts might affect the conditions of competition between the life assurance companies, and in particular be used to enable the insurance groups to agree forms of coordination between them. The nature and the regular supply of the data provided by the consultancy firm would rapidly provide the beneficiary companies with crucial information on their competitor's business activities, and more importantly their strategies, thereby enabling them to promptly bring their own conduct into line with that of the other market operators. Furthermore, the information disseminated by the consultancy firm appears to be destined only for the insurance companies, and is therefore unable to improve transparency for the benefit of consumers.
This being so, the Authority considers that the agreements as notified might restrict competition, and has resolved to commence investigations into the following companies: Ras Riunione Adriatica di Sicurtà, Assicurazioni Generali, Alleanza Assicurazioni, Generali Vita, Ina Vita and IAMA Consulting.
The investigation will be completed by 30 September 2004.
Rome, 15 October 2003