Poland - Generali Life fined by Poland's UOKiK for unfair practices

Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has fined the insurance company Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie Generali company nearly PLN 190,000 for refusing to compensate policy holders.

The company was offering consumers contracts for individual retirement accounts (IRA) linked with life insurance. However, it refused to pay compensation where an insured person's death was related to participation in sporting and leisure activities (...) of a risky nature without precisely defining those activities. As a result, the insurer claimed complete freedom in determining the situations that exempt it from liability. At the same time, consumers were not able to determine the circumstances under which they are entitled to payment from a policy.

The UOKiK also questioned a provision according to which the amount the company would pay could be reduced if a customer that has reached retirement age has not informed the insurer of that fact within 60 days of doing so. Meanwhile, according to the law, an insurer has the right to reduce the amount it pays out for an insurable event only if the late notification is due to the willful misconduct or gross negligence of the insured person, and also if it has contributed to increased damage or made it impossible for the insurer to establish the circumstances and consequences of the insured event. Generali’s practice meant that retirees could be deprived of a percentage of payments even when the delay in notification was not their fault, but was caused by other events, such as a long stay in hospital.

The President of the UOKiK decided that Generali had violated the collective interests of consumers, and imposed a fine of PLN 188,386. The company stopped the practices in question, leading the UOKiK to reduce the fine. The decision is final.