OpenLobby.EU
Explore

Association des Assureurs Mutualistes

AAM

Cette association a pour objet : - de promouvoir les valeurs mutualistes, de solidarité, proximité et démocratie, en particulier dans les relations avec les pouvoirs publics français et européens, - de défendre et de représenter les intérêts spécifiques à l'assurance à caractère mutuel, y compris dans le secteur de l'économie sociale et solidaire, et d’étudier et de coordonner, dans ce but, l'action des membres particulièrement en France et dans l'Union européenne et notamment auprès des différentes instances professionnelles et des pouvoirs publics,

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Grégory Allione (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Nov 2024 · Réunion Assureurs mutualistes - assurance contre les risques climatiques

Response to Open finance framework

31 Oct 2023

While the Commission states that "these proposals are focused on the interests of consumers, competition, security and trust", mutual insurers stand by the legislator to promote together a set of tools and mechanisms at the service of these issues. As introduction, mutual insurers respond by highlighting two key points: - The relationship with their clients is different since they are both the insured and the insurer through their direct participation in governance. This is not a purely commercial relationship but one of common interest: solidarity between its members and no shareholders. - Some of the targeted data could be used to exclude customers with an unfavourable risk profile (e.g. areas with high climate risk). FiDA must not pose a risk of demutualization to the detriment of more "unprofitable" vulnerable populations. The legislative proposal presents several concerns involving the protection of individuals: FIDA is likely to lead to a standardisation of financial products. This may reduce the consumer's choice to a basic comparison on price alone if they decide to dispense with the advice of a professional or if he calls on a professional who exercise in execution only" as provided for by IDD. An obligation to harmonise would seriously undermine the richness of the guarantees offered and would be anti-competitive. The diversity of insurance contracts from one country to another in Europe is the result of market and regulatory differences that are currently to the advantage of consumers. In France in home and motor insurance, the combined ratios exceed 100: the market is very competitive. AAM advocates for informed consent from the client: FIDA exposes people to the risk of consenting to conditions presented in a vague or incomplete manner. To protect the sensitive data of its customers, mutual insurers oppose the opening of data falling under Articles 9 and 10 of the GDPR, even with the consent of individuals. FIDA should not lead providers to ask for data that they did not have in their database initially. In insurance, client data is "processed" by insurers to calculate a risk, a premium, etc. Not all insurers ask the same data to their customers and the collection is part of trade secrets. The exercise of advising is also part of the insurer's business secrecy since it is adapted to each product and each customer. Insurers' obligation to share data should only apply to raw data, directly provided by the customer. The definition of "customer data", "which covers both data provided by a customer and data generated as a result of the customer's interaction with the financial institution", is too generic. Opening this data to EU providers who do not exercise the duty to advise gives them a disproportionate advantage and distorts competition rules. The concentration of personal and sensitive data as proposed by FIDA increases the risk of cyberattacks and runs counter to DORA's resilience objectives. FIDA, coupled with the global movement to open public data could threaten the anonymity of individuals on particularly sensitive cases. While they are in possession of their customers data, insurers comply with a regulation (IDD, GDPR, DORA) and take charge of heavy IT developments to comply with. Data users, from the moment they receive data from data holders, must become de facto data holders with the same regulatory and sectoral obligations. The application for authorization of a financial reporting service must include not only the type of access to the data considered, but also a detailed description of the intended use. Through the proposal, FIDA facilitates the entry of foreign players into the European market and thus increases the risk of personal data leakage to non-European clouds. The development and maintenance of platforms induced by FIDA, and daily updates would entail significant costs for insurers, which would have to be passed on to client's insurance premiums.
Read full response

Response to Review of the Community Designs Regulation

30 Jan 2023

AAM (Association of Mutual Insurers in France) represents 31 mutual insurance groups i.e. 91 companies. Key figures from AAM members in 2021: - 47.2 million members and clients, - 102,000 employees, - 46.2% French market share in property damage AAM supports the revision of the Directive on the legal protection of designs. We consider that the introduction of a repair clause is a major step towards liberalising the spare parts market. This measure would promote greater respect for competition law and have a positive impact on household purchasing power. In France, insurers pay compensations for more than 7.5 million accidents per year involving material damage. These represent about 60% of the compensations paid out by insurers. Spare parts account for half of the total cost of repairs. For nearly 10 years, French insurers have seen a steady and significant increase in the cost of automobile parts. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), this increase has been systematically higher than inflation for at least the last 15 years. The increase reached the rate of 9.6% in 2022 (compared to 2021). Promoting the liberalisation of the spare parts market with the introduction of the repair clause in the Directive In France, visible parts on vehicles are protected by design law and copyright. Visible parts, registered after 1 st January 2023, are protected for 10 years. Those registered before this date are still protected for 25 years. AAM strongly supports the liberalisation of the aftermarket in order to have a real effect on the cost of car repairs. The introduction of a repair clause in the Directive is an important step in the right direction. The French Competition Authority stated in a 2012 report that various convergent studies concluded that the removal of protection for visible spare parts would lead to a drop in the average price of visible parts of around 6 to 15%. According to a study carried out by Insurance Europe (European federation of insurers) until 2016, comparing the prices of certain bodywork parts in several European countries, it appears that the price of certain bodywork parts was 20 to 50% more expansive in France than in other European countries. These high prices are largely due to the de facto monopoly of car manufacturers. The strengthening of competition on the car spare parts market is an essential condition for controlling increase in repair costs. It would be a strong measure in favour of household purchasing power. Depending on severity of damages, some policyholders sometimes choose to bear the repair costs themselves, sometimes giving them up at the expense of their safety. Liberalisation would directly benefit households and SMEs with small fleets. Towards full liberalisation for real efficiency of the system AAM supports the introduction of a repair clause without a 10-year transitional period. The text of the proposal, as currently drafted, contains a 10-year derogation for parts that have already been registered which will reduce the effectiveness of the repair clause. There are several reasons to consider: - This transitional period could lead to legal uncertainty about the level of protection of parts in a particular car or model. - As most repairs are still subject to the old regime of the Design Directive, the deflation effect of the liberalisation of the spare parts market is likely to be dampened. - In practice, this could lead to price discrimination; owners of older vehicles being penalized by high-priced spare parts. - Finally, the lifespan of most vehicles on the French market is 8 years. A 10-year protection will not have the desired effect of liberalising the spare parts market. Such a clause should therefore apply to designs which are already registered as well as all future designs, thus guaranteeing the full effectiveness of the measure. The position of AAM is attached in French and in English.
Read full response