15 November 2010
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News

Polish Insurance Association sent a letter to Mr. Jacek Sadowy, the president of the Public Procurement Office, criticising the opinion of the UZP entitled “Award of contracts for employee group life insurance”. The Procurement Office recommends the use of the Public Procurement Law in the context of contracts of group life insurance.

In the letter, PIU notes that the group insurance is not related to spending public funds, so the application of the PPL is not justified. The Board also notes that the use of PZP in the group insurance raises the risk that employers who want to protect workers, will chose the insurance policy because of its price. This way they will narrow the choice of products with better and broader protection. PIU stresses that the price may not be the sole and primary determinant of the attractiveness of the product, by definition designed to be protective.
The PZP Act blocks also the possibility of changing conditions of the contract of insurance in relation to those shown in the original offer. Interpretation of the Public Procurement Office therefore does not permit insurance companies to customize any products to new and changing needs of insurance for workers.
PIU for several weeks have been exchanging views with the representatives of the Procurement Office on group insurance solutions. Before sending the attached letter, there were also two meetings concerning this issue. In the first meeting with the president of the Public Procurement Office the insurance market was represented by Mr. Piotr Kuszewski – representative of the Commission on Life Insurance PIU. The second meeting brought together representatives of the PIU Insurance Commission for Life, The PIU Bancassurance Working Group and PIU experts.