RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENTS IN INSURANCE – IMPACT OF EUROPEAN UNION LAW AND CURRENT TRENDS

Insurance, by its very nature, is a specific and highly regulated activity and, as such, enjoys special treatment under competition rules. Thus, the exemption of restrictive agreements has traditionally been applied within the insurance sector under EU law. The paper examines the concept of restrictive agreements in order to highlight the need to consider both the arguments for and against their exclusion from the general regime of competition protection. It is concluded that the protection of competition in the field of insurance is a delicate societal task, for the execution of which precise and clear regulations are the most important.

Keywords: insurance industry, coinsurance and reinsurance, restrictive agree- ments, competition law