Official Position of the ICT Sector on the Ban on Online Issuance of Third-Party Liability Insurance
09/18/2015The ICT Cluster, together with the Interactive Advertising Bureau Bulgaria (IAB Bulgaria), the Bulgarian Web Association (BWA), and the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM), has announced its official position on the proposed amendment to the Insurance Code, which would prohibit the remote issuance of third-party liability insurance policies. The ICT industry supports the position of leading insurers in the country, who argue that prohibiting the online issuance of third-party liability insurance contradicts the natural progression of digitalizing financial services to make them more accessible for citizens and legal entities.
The explicit ban on remote third-party liability insurance policies has been retained in the latest draft of the new Insurance Code, submitted to parliament by the Council of Ministers. This draft was prepared months earlier by experts at the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC). During the public consultation period, many insurance companies expressed opposition to this ban and submitted statements with suggestions for amendments.
Full Text of the Position
The Interactive Advertising Bureau Bulgaria (IAB Bulgaria), the Bulgarian Web Association (BWA), the Bulgarian Association of Software Companies (BASSCOM), and the ICT Cluster support the stance of leading insurers in the country that banning the online issuance of third-party liability insurance policies contradicts the natural process of digitalizing financial services, making them more accessible to citizens and businesses.
We believe that the arguments cited by the Financial Supervision Commission for banning the online issuance of third-party liability insurance policies are unconvincing and do not account for the technological solutions available for delivering financial services remotely.
European practices show that improved access and flexible procedures not only increase demand for such services but also facilitate better communication and data exchange between insurers, regulatory authorities, and traffic management organizations.
"The free market provides us with access to all types of information, goods, and services. The internet only facilitates this access, making it the preferred option for more and more users. I don't believe that if I can buy a car online, I should need to visit an office to buy insurance for it," says Hristo Hristov, Chairman of the IAB Bulgaria.
"We, the undersigned business organization representatives, believe that this proposed change is conservative and lags behind European trends toward implementing electronic financial services. Therefore, we urge that this proposal be withdrawn. We call for discussions to develop a new proposal aligned with the market situation and consistent with the government’s policy for advancing e-government," the representatives state.
Sincerely,
Hristo Hristov, Chairman, IAB Bulgaria
Borislava Hristova, Chairwoman, Bulgarian Web Association
Petar Statev, Chairman, ICT Cluster
Stamen Kochkov, Chairman, BASSCOM