The European protocol governing the Cooperation of the Competent Authorities of the Members States of the European Union in Particular Concerning the Application of Directive 2002/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 December 2002 on Insurance Mediation (more commonly referred to as the “Luxembourg Protocol”) has been replaced by an updated agreement to reflect the new obligations under the Insurance Distribution Directive ((EU) 2016/97 or ‘IDD’).

The new agreement, snappily titled “Cooperation of the competent authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area with regard to the application of Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 January 2016 on insurance distribution”, provides the framework for cooperation and exchange of information between the European national competent authorities (NCAs) under the IDD. A revised agreement was needed as the IDD requires greater cooperation between the NCAs in a number of areas, including passported activities.

The new cooperation agreement sets out a framework for the cooperation between NCAs in relation to exchange of information, supervision of professional requirements, additional bilateral agreements, registration and notification of insurance and reinsurance intermediaries and ancillary insurance intermediaries, passporting information requirements, treatment of complaints, disputes over responsibilities and public information.

The new cooperation agreement came into effect on 1 October 2018.

 View: Replacement of the Luxembourg Protocol with new IDD co-operation agreement