Parliament definitively approved on Thursday a reform of insurance and banking brokerage, which provides for the creation of professional associations to better supervise practices within the sector after abuses observed in recent years.
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This text, "
very technical
" by the admission of some parliamentarians and which concerns a total of 56,000 professionals, was adopted by show of hands in a final vote in the Senate, after its approval on March 17 by the National Assembly.
It intends to remedy a series of shortcomings observed in recent years and thus better protect consumers.
To do this, it provides for the creation of professional associations, to which brokers will be required to join and which will be responsible for carrying out verification and support missions for these intermediaries in insurance and banking, while offering a mediation service.
70 checks per year
Associations may also refuse the membership of a broker if the latter does not meet a certain number of requirements and make recommendations to their members in matters of commercial practices or the prevention of conflicts of interest.
The result of a bill from the LREM group, very largely inspired by government work carried out under the PACTE law, this device was adopted at the end of January by the National Assembly at first reading, then amended in mid-February by the Senate. .
The senators had notably adopted amendments aimed at regulating unsolicited telephone solicitation for insurance contracts, notably providing for an obligation to keep records of sales calls for a period of two years.
The new provisions also prohibit “
one-off
” sales
and specify the procedures for obtaining consumer consent.
In expansion for several years, the brokerage sector remains little controlled by the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority, the French supervisor of banking and insurance.
This authority "
carries out 70 checks per year,
" Senator Jean-François Husson recalled on Tuesday.
Brokerage brings together a very large number of players, very diverse and very fragmented, most of them being very small companies, or even self-employed workers.
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Problem, the image of the sector has been tarnished in recent months by the use by some of questionable commercial practices, such as false allegations, abusive telephone canvassing, breaches of the duty of information and advice or even the lack of of customers' consent to the signing of the contract.
