Following the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) raids on aviation insurance brokers in London, the European Commission, in cooperation with the Irish Competition Authority, carried out raids on 4th July into a number of motor insurance providers in Ireland. These raids relate to as yet unspecified potential infringements of the EU and/or Irish competition rules prohibiting anti-competitive agreements or abuse of a dominant market position.
These raids are the initial stage in an investigation which may then run for some time before any infringement finding. However, what is clear is that the competition agencies currently have an interest in the insurance sector – and that companies should be carefully considering their preparedness for any further investigations.
