Information Duties Stemming from the Insurance Distribution Directive as an Example of Faulty Application of the Principle of Proportionality

Abstract

IDD directive constitutes a piece of EU primary legislation and therefore it is obliged to respect the legal principles ruling the way in which EU acts towards the Member States, among which proportionality principle is of special importance. A legal act complies with the principle of proportionality if the measures adopted by the EU do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary to attain the objectives legitimately pursued by the legislation in question. According to IDD’s recitals, the measures adopted therein are proportional to the aim pursued by the IDD, i.e. customer protection. However, a live discussion boosted over the focal point of the IDD, i.e. a wide range of information duties, may lead to different conclusions and thereby put proportionality of the IDD in doubts. To verify this thesis, the author attempts to carry out the ‘proportionality test’ of the discussed information duties.