The new Insurance Distribution Directive, which came into force con 22 February 2016 and updates the 2002 Insurance Mediation Directive, sets out a framework for regulating EU insurance brokers, agents and other intermediaries. The key elements of the new Directive, which shall be transposed into national laws and regulations in a two-year term, are (i) extending the scope to cover all sales of insurance products; (ii) identifying, managing and mitigating conflicts of interest; (iii) strengthening administrative sanctions; (iv) enhancing the suitability and objectiveness of insurance advice; (v) ensuring that sellers’ professional qualifications match the complexity of the products they sell; and (vi) clarifying the procedure for cross-border market entry.
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