On 1 April a trialogue agreement was reached by the European Parliament, Council and Commission on the EU packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) Regulation.
Insurance Europe welcomes the exclusion of pension products from the scope of the Regulation. Pension products are neither investment products nor comparable with them, because they are specifically purchased to provide an income for retirement. Consumers therefore need personalised information to make informed decisions about which pension product to purchase.
Insurance Europe strongly supports a high level of consumer protection and believes improving the information provided to consumers is key. It remains to be seen whether the final PRIIPs Regulation as agreed by the trialogue parties will fulfil this aim.
The standardised “key information document”, as proposed in the PRIIPs Regulation, should be a useful tool for empowering consumers by both educating them and allowing them to compare investment products more effectively. However, it should not simply be a case of more information, but rather better information for consumers.
Insurance Europe remains, therefore, very concerned about the duplication of information requirements between the Solvency II Directive and the PRIIPs Regulation, and the resulting information overload for consumers. This duplication of information will confuse consumers, rather than simplify their purchasing decisions.