Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 20 Advice, and standards for sales where no advice is given

1. Prior to the conclusion of an insurance contract, the insurance distributor shall specify, on the basis of information obtained from the customer, the demands and the needs of that customer and shall provide the customer with objective information about the insurance product in a comprehensible form to allow that customer to make an informed decision.

Any contract proposed shall be consistent with the customer’s insurance demands and needs.

Where advice is provided prior to the conclusion of any specific contract, the insurance distributor shall provide the customer with a personalised recommendation explaining why a particular product would best meet the customer’s demands and needs.

2. The details referred to in paragraph 1 shall be modulated according to the complexity of the insurance product being proposed and the type of customer.

3. Where an insurance intermediary informs the customer that it gives its advice on the basis of a fair and personal analysis, it shall give that advice on the basis of an analysis of a sufficiently large number of insurance contracts available on the market to enable it to make a personal recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which insurance contract would be adequate to meet the customer’s needs.

4. Without prejudice to Articles 183 and 184 of Directive 2009/138/EC, prior to the conclusion of a contract, whether or not advice is given and irrespective of whether the insurance product is part of a package pursuant to Article 24 of this Directive, the insurance distributor shall provide the customer with the relevant information about the insurance product in a comprehensible form to allow the customer to make an informed decision, while taking into account the complexity of the insurance product and the type of customer.

5. In relation to the distribution of non-life insurance products as listed in Annex I to Directive 2009/138/EC, the information referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall be provided by way of a standardised insurance product information document on paper or on another durable medium.

6. The insurance product information document referred to in paragraph 5 shall be drawn up by the manufacturer of the non-life insurance product.

7. The insurance product information document shall:

(a) be a short and stand-alone document;

(b) be presented and laid out in a way that is clear and easy to read, using characters of a readable size;

(c) be no less comprehensible in the event that, having been originally produced in colour, it is printed or photocopied in black and white;

(d) be written in the official languages, or in one of the official languages, used in the part of the Member State where the insurance product is offered or, if agreed by the consumer and the distributor, in another language;

(e) be accurate and not misleading;

(f) contain the title ‘insurance product information document’ at the top of the first page;

(g) include a statement that complete pre-contractual and contractual information on the product is provided in other documents.

Member States may stipulate that the insurance product information document is to be provided together with information required pursuant to other relevant Union legislative acts or national law on the condition that all the requirements set out in the first subparagraph are met.

8. The insurance product information document shall contain the following information:

(a) information about the type of insurance;

(b) a summary of the insurance cover, including the main risks insured, the insured sum and, where applicable, the geographical scope and a summary of the excluded risks;

(c) the means of payment of premiums and the duration of payments;

(d) main exclusions where claims cannot be made;

(e) obligations at the start of the contract;

(f) obligations during the term of the contract;

(g) obligations in the event that a claim is made;

(h) the term of the contract including the start and end dates of the contract;

(i) the means of terminating the contract.

9. EIOPA, after consulting national authorities and after consumer testing, shall develop draft implementing technical standards regarding a standardised presentation format of the insurance product information document specifying the details of the presentation of the information referred to in paragraph 8.

EIOPA shall submit those draft implementing technical standards to the Commission by 23 February 2017.

Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010.