EIOPA Evaluates European Insurance Intermediaries Market

EIOPA has published a report – Insurance Distribution Directive – Evaluation of the Structure of Insurance Intermediaries Markets in Europe – together with an annex containing a Country-by-Country Analysis.

Although national variations in registration practices, reporting frameworks and categories of intermediaries hampered the ability of EIOPA to draw conclusions on the intermediary market at a European level, it was able to identify some trends including significant variations in the size of insurance intermediaries markets and a small decrease in the number of registered intermediaries (primarily natural persons and agents) which may be due to more stringent regulatory requirements and the growth of alternative distribution channels.  It notes also that there is a small but increasing role of direct insurers in distribution, particularly on the life side. Although the data is patchy, it appears that cross-border business is increasing. Remuneration models are