PRESS RELEASE

INSURANCE COMPANIES: TWO FINES FOR 29 MILLION EUROS AGAINST “UNIPOLSAI” AND “GENERALI” DUE TO AN ANTI-COMPETITION AGREEMENT

Two fines, for an overall sum of 29 million Euros, have been inflicted by the Antitrust Authority on the companies called “Assicurazioni Generali” (General Insurance) (12.013.443 Euros) and “Unipol-Fondiaria”, the latter ones having currently converged into the UnipolSai group (16.930.031 Euros). The Authority has thus penalized an agreement on restrictive practices concerning participation in tenders for Third Party Liability (TPL) insurance extended to the vehicles of 15 local public transport companies in as many Italian cities. The agreement, which lasted from 2010 to 2014, has involved 58 tenders.

According to the Competition and Market Guarantor Authority (Agcm), it was faced with a single complex agreement consisting in non-participation in several procedures on allocating insurance services within the field of Third Party Insurance, for the sake of avoiding competitive confrontation and preserving the historically serviced customer base through bilateral negotiations, in exchange for increased premiums. Out of a total of 58 tenders, 39 were unattended and 19 were allocated to the company historically tasked with the service, in its capacity as sole bidder. The tenders were proclaimed by the following companies: AMTAB Bari, CSTP Salerno, APS Holding Padova, Autoservizi Irpini, STP Terra d’Otranto, CTP Napoli, GTT Torino, AMT Catania, ATC Terni, FTV Vicenza, AMT Genova, Tiemme Toscana Mobilità, ATAM Reggio Calabria, Azienda Trasporti di Messina and ASM Rieti.

The coordination took place, among other things, through the contracts concluded between the companies within the working group on local public Transport established in ANIA (National Association of Insurance Companies), the sector association of insurance companies. The agreement was held to be very serious by the Antitrust Authority, as it had as its object the coordinated participation in tenders within an especially sensitive industry, i.e. compulsory insurance cover for the risks associated with Third Party Liability in local public Transport, because of the large number of companies and tenders involved, and, lastly, because of its duration.

Rome, 26 March 2015