PRESS RELEASE

INSURANCE SECTOR: COMPETITION AUTHORITY REMOVES OBSTACLES TO MULTI-MANDATE, MORE SPACE FOR A MORE COMPETITIVE COMPARISON IN NON-LIFE AND CAR INSURANCE

Accepted and made binding the commitments offered by the companies: UnipolSai Assicurazioni, Assicurazioni Generali, Allianz, Società Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni, Società Cattolica di Assicurazione, Axa Assicurazioni and Groupama Assicurazioni. The investigation is closed without a finding of infringement.

No more obstacles to multi-mandate insurance, with positive effects on competition in the markets for non-life insurance, starting from car insurance sector. The Competition Authority, at its meeting of 20 May 2014, decided to accept, making binding, the commitments offered by the major insurance companies, precisely aimed at removing contract clauses that made it difficult for agents the management of several mandates. Thus it ends like this, without a finding of infringement, the investigation started in June last year to cheque for any anti-competitive behaviour.

According to the Competition Authority, the commitments individually submitted by the companies UnipolSai Assicurazioni, Assicurazioni Generali, Allianz, Società Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni, Società Cattolica di Assicurazione, Axa Assicurazioni and Groupama Assicurazioni, solve alleged anti-competitive problems in the commencement of the investigation: the measures make it possible indeed to overcome vertical restrictions in a position to prevent the spread of networks of agents in multi-mandate and can promote an effective competition between the insurance companies in the insurance markets of damages, including the car insurance market in particular.

In summary, the binding measures are as follows:

1) Provisions relating to the exclusiveness in agency contracts and to the information in the case of acceptance of other mandates

Referrals to exclusivity schemes, obligations of timely or prior notice in case of acceptance of other mandates are eliminated in the agency contracts. In this way, according to the Competition, agents can rely on a clear and certain framework of reference on the full freedom of multi-mandate on which to base investment and organisational structures.

2) Provisions relating to the operation of agents

The removal of the provisions likely to constrain the agents to a single insurance company - with particular reference to the local agencies, to users, computer equipment and current accounts – removes the obstacles of an operational nature at the acceptance of mandates from multiple insurance companies, ensuring overcoming of disincentives due to the constraints existing before on the part of the agent for the use of various structures necessary for its activities.

3) Commissions

Economic conditions that do not discriminate, through the commissions paid, between mono agents and those in multi-mandates, are guaranteed. In this same perspective, there have also been deleted references to the provisions contained in the Accordo Nazionale Agenti (National Agents’ Agreement) of 2003 relating to the treatment of severance pay and compensation, such as to determine loyalty-inducing effects. According to the Antitrust, this will develop forms of competition in the relations between agents and insurance companies, either by reducing the homogeneity of important competitive variables, or providing the possibility of removing certain disincentives to acceptance of more mandates.

4) Procedures and terms of communication of commitments

All the companies, parties to the proceedings have identified forms and terms of communication of commitments to their respective agents, in order to give them full knowledge of the commitments adopted and certainty about the manner and timing of implementation.

Rome, 30 May 2014