Insurance Europe has today published its response to a consultation by the European Commission on its proposals for a Data Governance Act.
Insurance Europe welcomed the overall objective of creating a single market for data, where data from public bodies, business and citizens can be used safely and fairly for the common good.
For insurers, a greater availability of data could lead to improved risk monitoring and assessment, better customer experiences and increased fraud detection. The more data that is available for the common good, the better the digital solutions and analytical models can be.
Insurance Europe also welcomed the acknowledgement by the Commission that sector-specific legislation can add new and complementary elements to this data framework, such as the envisaged legislation on the European health data space and on access to vehicle data.
At the same time, the insurance industry supports the overall approach set out in the Commission’s data strategy, which recognises that sector-specific legislation on data-sharing should only be introduced where there are identified market failures; the focus should otherwise be on strengthening the conditions for data collaboration and data partnerships.
There should also be greater clarity regarding the nature of the data sharing services that fall within the scope of the proposed Regulation. While the Commission’s proposals offer some important clarifications in this regard, this could be made more explicit through the provision of concrete examples.
The proposed rules also need to be designed in a way that fully complies with all data protection requirements, and that ensures that data subjects remain fully in control of their data and can freely choose between different providers.