PRESS RELEASE

SITES COMPARISON OF RC CAR INSURANCE COMMITMENT POLICIES BINDING ON FACILE.IT AND 6SICURO

The Italian Competition Authority (ICA) has decided to accept and make binding commitments offered by the company “Facile.it” and “6Sicuro” for online comparison activities of the RC car insurance policies on their respective websites.  This concludes two parallel investigations launched on 10 October 2014 to assess the possible infringement of the rules on unfair commercial practices.  The commitments are published on the ICA website at the end of the provisions.

The first aspect concerned the alleged lack of transparency on the internet of professionals with regards to the number and the identity of the companies involved, their representativeness, the process of sale and the sources of income for the comparing site.  All this could create ambiguity with regards to both the significance of the outcome of the comparison and also to the presence of any interest of the comparator in guiding consumer choice to some policies.  In this regard, the commitments of the parties provide for the inclusion of clear and immediate information on their website about the working mechanism of the site, the commissions paid by the companies to the comparator, as well as the market share of the companies being compared.

A second point concerned the inclusion of the results of the comparison of accessory insurance covers with regards to RC cars, in a manner non-adherent with respect to the demands of the consumer, making it uneven and difficult to compare the offers of companies.  The commitments mark the transition to a procedure where there will only be made proposals in line with the characteristics chosen by the consumer, who with a click can eventually choose additional cover, expressing their will in an explicit manner (c.d. opt-in).

Finally, the commitments include measures aimed at introducing greater transparency in advertising, with particular reference to claims such as “save up to…”.

In accepting the commitments, the Authority found that the benefits of a quick and immediate comparison of company offers can achieve a significant opportunity for the consumer, also favouring a general reduction of prices.

Rome, 27 April 2015