Produktinnovationen und Produktmodifikationen in der Versicherungswirtschaft: Rolle und Bedeutung nach der Deregulierung

One consequence of the deregulation of the insurance industry in 1994 is a considerably improved scope for insurance companies to design products. Therefore, the question should be raised if there is an observable effect on the insurer’s behaviour with regard to the development of new products. This paper embodies results of an empirical study that collected data of 650 products that were launched in the German insurance industry between 1996 and 2005 and that could be categorised as product innovations or as product modifications. On the basis of the study, it was possible for the first time to provide quantitative evidence that in the whole industry the amount of product innovations (in average 2,4 per year) as well as of product modifications (in average 63 per year) stayed on a modest level after the deregulation and that the evaluated impact of the deregulation on the development of new products is relatively small. This is also demonstrated by the fact that 27% of all German insurers developed only one new product in ten years. In addition, it became evident that there is no significant change in the extent of the (small) impact in the last ten years. Thus, the deregulation itself only sent limited impulses for renewing products in the German insurance industry. Apparently, the theoretical considerations are supported that while considering a high entrepreneurial risk and the absence of a monopoly rent at the same time the Value Based Management imposes a high hurdle for the insurance industry to develop new products. The role of renewing products is therefore determined by their value contribution to companies and customers, whereas the deregulation itself marginally changed this role.     

Europäische Richtlinie über Versicherungsvermittlung und VVG-Reform

The directive on insurance mediation, proposed by the European Commission, is supposed to secure a minimum standard of professional competence for intermediaries to protect customers as well as to ascertain the intermediaries’ freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services in the internal market. Pursuant to the directive, only an intermediary who is registered in his / her home country’s intermediary register will be allowed to mediate insurances. The intermediary has to comply with professional requirements set by the directive in order to be registered. Yet, part-time intermediaries can be exempted from those requirements by the member states. Additionally, the intermediaries are burdened with certain information and documentation duties towards their customers, a breach of which will cause personal liability. Only these contractual duties are to be implemented in the WG (German Insurance Act), which is soon to be basically reformed.     

Die Deckungsvorsorge der Versicherungsvermittler nach der EU-Versicherungsvermittlungs-Richtlinie

Insurance intermediaries being obliged to be registrated in Germany due to the directive have to comply with severe provisions concerning cover provisions (i. e. Deckungsvorsorge). A third-party liability insurance is virtually compulsory for insurance brokers and insurance agents charged by several insurance companies (i. e. Mehrfach-Agent), other kinds of equal alternatives for them do not exist practically. Concerning exclusively charged insurance agents (i. e. Ausschließlichkeits-Agenten), as well as in a side job, an indemnity clause of their insurance company giving the third party full rights may be a an alternative complying with the directive. The minimum covering funds being prescribed by the directive of € 1 million per event of damage and the minimum annual covering sum of € 1.5 million are appropriate to third party liability risks of an average insurance broker on the German market, for almost all of the insurance agents on this market without a permitted covering provisions, with regard to their very little third party liability risks, they are too high. Nevertheless, the German legislator is not entitled to deviate from them to lower sums for lack of an authorization rule in the directive. German legislator should transform the rules of the directive into national ones as soon as possible in favour of the interests of the consumers worthy of protection, using the existing national regulations on lawyers, notary publics, tax consultants and accountants concerning minimum contents of compulsory cover provisions and agreed exclusive clauses.     

Die Rechtsstellung der Prämien-, Bedingungs- und Deckungsstocktreuhänder nach dem VVG und dem VAG

The legal statuses of ?trustee for premium changes“, ?trustee for condition changes“ and ?trustee for coverage fund“ are comparable. All of them act under private law. Their function is slot in ahead of the grievance control of the supervising agency. The trustees are supposed to relieve the supervising agency and to inform it about the competitive practices of the insurance companies. The legal provisions concerning the trustees for premium and condition changes as stated in the VAG rank equally with those stated in the VVG. The rights to adapt contracts stated in §§ 172 and 178 g VVG have the characteristics of a one-sided right according to § 315 BGB. These rights allow the insurance company to pass on the risk of future changes of actuarial bases. Under private law, the independence of the trustees is merely a formal condition. Their declaration of consent has to include the reasons for the consent.     

Zur Theorie und Praxis der Berechnung des effektiven Zinsfusses bei Anleihen

§ 1. Einleitung.

Die folgende Darstellung des in der Überschrift genannten Problems schliesst sich direkt einem Vortrage des Verfassers im schwedischen Aktuarverein am 2.2. 1939 an, in welchem er schon die Hauptresultate des § 3 mitteilen konnte.     

Das Versicherungsvermittlerrecht nach der Reform

The EC Directive on insurance mediation has been implemented into German Law two and a half years late by the Insurance Intermediary Law Revision Act of 19^th December 2006, which has been enacted on 22^nd May 2007. On the one hand, this Act contains regulations on the professional law which are provided in the Industrial Code (Gewerbeordnung — GewO). In principle according to section 34d GewO, professional insurance intermediation is an activity requiring a licence. This licence is only granted under the condition that the applicant is able to present the conclusion of a professional indemnity insurance and a certificate that the applicant has passed an examination of knowledge and ability held by the chambers of industry and commerce (IHK). In fact, the exceptions from this principle prevail. Tied insurance agents are exempted from both conditions by act of law. Product accessory intermediaries can be exempted from the examination of knowledge and ability upon application. Employees of an insurance intermediary need to prove their knowledge and ability only to their employer. On the other hand the Insurance Intermediary Law Revision Act contains besides the regulations on professional law also new obligations of information, communication and consultation for the insurance intermediary. These obligations have been implemented into a professional law ordinance and into sections 42b und 42c Insurance Contract Act (VVG). The ordinance regulates the obligations of the insurance intermediary to provide the customer with information about his status. Sec 42b (1) VVG regulates the obligation of an insurance broker to give an advice on the basis of an analysis of a sufficiently large number of insurance contracts and insurance undertakings. Sec 42b (2) VVG regulates obligations of an insurance agent to inform the customer before the conclusion of an insurance contract about the market conditions and information basis he uses for his service, if the customer has not waived this right (sec 42b (3) VVG). Sec 42c (1) VVG further provides an obligation of the insurance intermediary to ask questions depending on the situation, an obligation to give advice depending on the situation and on the price of the product including an obligation to tell the reasons for the advice and finally an obligation of documentation. Sec 42c (2) VVG gives the consumer a right to express a waiver in writing to advice and documentation. Sec 42e VVG awards the costumer damages in the event that there has been a breach of the obligations regulated in sec 42b and 42c VVG. The Insurance Contract Law Reform Bill still has to be passed by parliament. Sec 1 of this Bill contains the new Insurance Contract Act. It is planned that this new Insurance Contract Act shall be enacted on 1^st January 2008. Sec 69 to 73 new Insurance Contract Act provide a complete revision of the law of the insurance agent’s representative authority which is now regulated in sec 43 to 48 of the old Insurance Contract Act (VVG). At the moment the law of insurance agent’s representative authority established by the courts differs extremely from the written law. Therefore the new Insurance Contract Act will bring only minor changes of the actual law. For most parts, the only aim of the reform is to adapt the law in action with the law in the book.