Commenced in 2016, the CCPC’s investigation examined suspected anti-competitive practices in the provision of private motor insurance, particularly in the area of price signalling. While the six companies have denied their involvement in breaches, they have now agreed to implement and maintain internal competition law compliance programmes, or enhance existing ones.
Requirements include the provision of mechanisms for internal monitoring and whistleblowing. Under the commitments, a compliance officer must also be appointed within the firms, in addition to having independent expert oversight, as well as regular competition law training.
“We issued preliminary findings to seven parties in September 2020, alleging that these organisations had engaged in anti-competitive cooperation over a 21-month period during 2015 and 2016,” noted CCPC’s Brian McHugh, who looks after competition enforcement and mergers. “All of the parties denied that they were in breach of competition law and pointed to their existing compliance programmes and measures.
“However, the existence of a compliance programme is of little value unless, when tested, a business and all of its employees can demonstrate that compliance is an integral part of the culture and working practices of the company. The CCPC did not accept that adequate compliance measures were in place in these businesses, as robust compliance programmes would have identified and flagged the behaviours of concern that were under investigation.”
McHugh said six of the parties agreed to undertake compliance reforms following constructive engagement with the CCPC and in the interests of addressing the watchdog’s concerns.
However, refusing to enter into similar commitments was Brokers Ireland, the amalgamation of the Irish Brokers Association and the Professional Insurance Brokers Association.
McHugh stated: “It is the CCPC’s view that Brokers Ireland, a representative body for insurance brokers, had a responsibility to fully address the conduct of its predecessor organisation, the Irish Brokers Association, which raised competition law concerns. By signing an equivalent agreement to that of the other six parties, Brokers Ireland would have, in the CCPC’s view, demonstrated its commitment to compliance in the future.”
Brokers Ireland’s membership spans more than 1,200 general insurance and financial broking firms.
“The fact that Brokers Ireland did not enter into legally binding commitments, in the CCPC’s view, arguably calls into question the organisational attitude towards compliance,” added the commission member.
McHugh went on to assert: “While this particular investigation may have come to an end, the CCPC is in no way giving the industry a clean bill of health. In this context, the CCPC has written to the Central Bank [of Ireland] to outline broader cultural concerns in the industry which have come to light during the course of the investigation.”
