Ireland: Issuance of policy documents by coverholders and service companies (clarification)

The CBI has advised insurers that where a policy contract for a consumer located in Ireland is issued by an insurance intermediary on behalf of an insurer, the CBI requires insurers and insurance intermediaries acting on behalf of insurers to carefully consider the inclusion of co-branding on the policy documents to ensure that the identity of the insurer is sufficiently clear. The position of the CBI may be summarised as follows:

• Co-branding by an intermediary acting on behalf of an insurer is permitted if the insurer is satisfied that this is in the interest of the consumer. It must not, however, in any way confuse the consumer about the name and location of the insurer underwriting their policy of insurance.
• If the policy includes ancillary cover underwritten by a secondary insurer, the branding should refer to the insurer underwriting the main policy and reference to the secondary insurer should be made in the appropriate section of the policy.

The CBI further emphasises that the name of the insurance company and its country of incorporation are two pieces of key information which need to be disclosed to consumers in a clear and transparent manner.

For Lloyd’s policies written on a freedom of services basis, the country of incorporation is the United Kingdom. The country of incorporation for Lloyd’s policies written on an establishment basis is Ireland. The name of the insurer on Lloyd’s policies should state “Certain underwriters at Lloyd’s” or “Certain underwriters at Lloyd’s in respect of syndicate XYZ”.

Please consult the relevant section of Crystal for more information.