Block exemption
On 4 May 2010, the European Commission’s DG Competition published new draft Guidelines for horizontal agreements, that provided guidance for standard terms and information requirements. It launched a consultation which was open until 25 June 2010.
BIPAR response to the European Commission’s consultation on its Communication regarding the draft Guidelines on the applicability of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to horizontal co-operation agreements (June 2010) ►
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On 5 October 2009, the European Commission launched a consultation on its revised draft Block Exemption Regulation (BER) for the insurance sector and invited interested third parties to comment by 30 November 2009.
The revised draft Block Exemption Regulation proposed to renew two of the four categories of agreements currently exempted by the Block Exemption Regulation, namely information exchange and insurance pools, with certain amendments. A clearer distinction was also made between pools and ad-hoc coinsurance arrangements in the draft.
BIPAR response to the European Commission's consultation on the Draft New Insurance Block Exemption Regulation (November 2009) ►
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The Insurance Block Exemption Regulation (BER) expired on 31 March 2010. Six years after its entry into force, the Commission was required to submit a report to the European Parliament and Council on the functioning of the BER together with any proposals for amendment in the light of experience. In April 2008, the Commission launched a public consultation. In addition, the Commission sent targeted questionnaires to certain stakeholders, public authorities and consumer organisations. The consultation closed in July 2008.
BIPAR response to the European Commission's consultation on the Review of Insurance BER (July 2008) ►