FAS: ONLY 20 % OF THE TOP 30 BANKS PUBLISHED NECESSARY INFORMATION ABOUT INSURANCE POLICIES

Olga Sergeeva at the round table “Bank insurance: balance between consumer value and commission income" within the framework of the XX International Banking Forum

An important factor ensuring real competition in the field of bank insurance is the availability of the necessary information from the borrower. It applies to the rights to choose an insurance company at the conclusion of the contract, to change the insurance company without changing the terms of lending, as well as the right to know about all the requirements for insurance policies. Such information should be available at the places where the loan is issued, in the online services of credit institutions and on the websites of lenders.

FAS Russia has started monitoring the websites of credit institutions. It showed that among the top 30 banks lending citizens, information about the acceptance of insurance policies of insurance organizations with A rating of A- and higher is posted on the websites of 20 % of credit organizations, and information about the requirements for the terms of insurance services is available from 37 % of banks. Monitoring by the authority also showed that even the necessary information is available on the site, it can be difficult to find such information.

According to the authority, the best practice is to place information in the section dedicated to the relevant financial product, or to indicate in this section a link to the relevant document.

FAS Russia also considers it appropriate to consolidate the following provisions of the resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation "On the admissibility of agreements between credit and insurance organizations" at the legislative level:

-       bank's obligation to accept an insurance certificate of any insurance company chosen by a citizen, provided that the insurer meets the requirements for the level of credit rating, and in its absence - requirements of the credit institution to insurance organizations;

-       bank's obligation to accept the insurance certificate of any insurer that meets its requirements, provided that the certificate meets the bank's requirements for the terms of the insurance service;

-       right of the Government of the Russian Federation to determine the mandatory level of the insurer's credit rating for banks according to the national rating scale, in the presence of which the credit institution is obliged to accept its insurance certificate without additional checks;

-       bank's obligation to inform borrowers about its requirements to insurance organizations and the conditions for providing insurance services, as well as the right to choose any insurance organization that meets these requirements;

-       obligation of the credit institution to inform borrowers about the possibility of changing the previously selected insurance organization to another one that meets the requirements for insurance organizations and the conditions for providing insurance services, without changing the terms of the loan agreement, provided that the insurance is continuous.