Directive 1988/357 - Coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and laying down provisions to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to provide services - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Directive
Number legal act	Directive 1988/357
Original proposal	COM(1975)516
CELEX number i	31988L0357

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Second Council Directive 88/357/EEC of 22 June 1988 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and laying down provisions to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to provide services and amending Directive 73/239/EEC

Official Journal L 172 , 04/07/1988 P. 0001 - 0014

Finnish special edition: Chapter 6 Volume 2 P. 0175

Swedish special edition: Chapter 6 Volume 2 P. 0175

SECOND COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 22 June 1988 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and laying down provisions to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to provide services and amending Directive 73/239/EEC (88/357/EEC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 57 (2) and 66 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),

Whereas it is necessary to develop the internal insurance market and, to achieve this objective, it is desirable to make it easier for insurance undertakings having their head office in the Community to provide services in the Member States, thus making it possible for policy-holders to have recourse not only to insurers established in their own country, but also to insurers which have their head office in the Community and are established in other Member States;

Whereas, pursuant to the Treaty, any discrimination with regard to freedom to provide services based on the fact that an undertaking is not established in the Member State in which the services are provided has been prohibited since the end of the transitional period; whereas this prohibition applies to services provided from any establishment in the Community, whether it is the head office of an undertaking or an agency or branch;

Whereas, for practical reasons, it is desirable to define the provision of services taking into account both the insurer's establishment and the place where the risk is situated; whereas therefore a definition of the situation of the risk should also be adopted; whereas, moreover, it is desirable to distinguish between the activity pursued by way of establishment and the activity pursued by way of freedom to provide services;

Whereas it is desirable to supplement the First Council Directive 73/239/EEC of 24 July 1973 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking-up and pursuit of the business of direct insurance other than life assurance (4), hereinafter referred to as the ´first Directive', as last amended by Directive 87/343/EEC (5), in order particularly to clarify the powers and means of supervision vested in the supervisory authorities; whereas it is also desirable to lay down specific provisions regarding the taking-up, pursuit and supervision of activity by way of freedom to provide services;

Whereas policy-holders who, by virtue of their status, their size or the nature of the risk to be insured, do not require special protection in the State in which the risk is situated should be granted complete freedom to avail themselves of the widest possible insurance market; whereas, moreover, it is desirable to guarantee other policy-holders adequate protection;

Whereas the concern to protect policy-holders and to avoid any disturbance of competition justifies coordinating the relaxation of the matching assets rules, provided for by the first Directive;

Whereas the provisions in force in the Member States regarding insurance contract law continue to differ; whereas the freedom to choose, as the law applicable to the contract, a law other than that of the State in which the risk is situated may be granted in certain cases, in...

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