The Finance Information Department of the Ministry of Finance provided PIU with the second series of answers relating to the doubts concerning the Act on counteracting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The questions sent to the Ministry of Finances and answers received are presented in the Attachment to this press release.
The questions were sent to the Ministry of Finance with regards to the doubts of insurance companies concerning the use of some of the provisions of the above-mentioned Act.
The answers to the first series of questions concerning other matters of the same Act were sent by PIU in the press release 17/2010 from the 24th of February this year.
In case of other questions and answers regarding the use of the above-mentioned Act, the PIU will immediately sent its members necessary materials.
After two years of work, the Financial Market Development Council created an amendment to the Act on Mandatory Insurances, UFG and PBUK. During the inter-resort negotiations which were held without social organizations a new project was developed which partly differs from the version recently agreed (with the participation of PIU).
These are the most important changes defined in the recent version of the project of the Act with reference to the former one:
• art. 26 sec. 1 of the Act on insurance activity – the possibility to use mechanically reconstructed signature in case of concluding an insurance agreement remotely within the Act on the protection of some of the consumers’ rights (…)
i.e. direct
• in the art. 18 of the Act on mandatory insurance – the sec. 1 is removed, i.e. statements and notices related to the insurance contract may be made in any legal form. The general principle from art. 61 c, will be binding in this case. Exception: the statement on the termination of the agreement for which the written form will be required. Moreover, a new section 3 will be introduced – the clause of postal stamp, i.e. termination will be recognized after it has been registered by post, not on the day when it has been received by the insurer (as it was before).
In addition, in regard to the position of the President of the Office of Consumers and Competition Protection concerning the insufficient solution of the question of so called double insurance, the Ministry of Finance offered to consider the following regulations in the project:
• the addition of the sec. 1a in the art. 28: “In case of another third party liability insurance of the owners of motor vehicles for another 12 months in form specified in the sec. 1, the insurance company will be obliged to deliver the insured a confirmation of the insurance agreement within 30 days from the day when the agreement was concluded”.
• addition of the art. 28a:
„Art. 28a. 1. In case of concluding a third party liability insurance agreement by an owner of a motor vehicle accompanied by the conclusion of another agreement for another 12 months in the form specified in art. 28, sec. 1, the owner of the motor vehicle may terminate the agreement concluded in the form specified in art. 28 sec. 1 provided that the insurance periods defined in the agreements are identical.
2. In case of termination of a third party liability insurance agreement of the owners of motor vehicles in line with the sec. 1, the insurance company may demand the payment of insurance commission for the period of liability.”
Introduction of the sec. 1 in the art. 28 would specify the need to deliver (to the insured) a document with personal signature of the insurer’s representative. Moreover, it would be hard to fulfill the obligation to deliver a document confirming the insurance agreement to the insured within 30 days from the day when the agreement was concluded.
The regulation transfers the liability (for timely delivery of the letter realized by an operator, e.g. Poczta Polska) on the insurer. The delivery of the document confirming the insurance agreement to the insured would require the insurer to incur significant costs related to the confirmation of the delivery of the letter (art. 6 cc).
Considering the above, the Association of Polish Insurance presented the following proposition to the Ministry of Finances:
• retaining the sec. 1a in the art. 28 – considering, in the bill, the possibility for an insuring company to use a mechanically reconstructed signature in a document confirming the agreement not only in case of concluding an insurance agreement without the presence of both parties, using means of remote communication. The provision requiring to deliver to the insured document confirming the insurance agreement within 30 days from the day the agreement was concluded is replaced with a provision obliging to send to the insured the document confirming the insurance agreement within 30 days from the day the agreement was concluded
or
• removal of the sec. 1a in the art. 28 and the introduction of the practice of sending (by the insurance company to the insured) of the insurance proposition for another insurance period specifying the amount of a commission. The forms of presenting this information will be defined by the Polish Insurance Association within 2 months from the day when the final bill is established.
Below we present other significant changes included in the bill:
• art. 31. Sec. 1 and 4 – resignation of the automatic conclusion of a insurance agreement for another period if the property rights of a vehicle were transferred.
• art. 26 sec. 2 and 3 – specification of the counting principles of the 12-month insurance period
• removal of the art. 42 – a general norm will be applied, i.e. 813§ 1 of the civil code
• the Act on activity, art. 16, the addition of the following content: “Notice and statements forwarded to the insurance agent with relation to the concluded insurance agreement are deemed to be forwarded to the insurance company for and on the behalf of which the agent acts”.
It should be noted that this version of the bill is not final. The bill will soon be considered on the session of the Permanent Cabinet Committee. Then it will receive the final shape.
Today the British-Polish Commercial Association (BPCC) holds a working breakfast with the Vice Minister of Health, Jakub Szulc as well as Paweł Kalbarczyk, the President of the Accident and Health Insurance Committee on the innovative solutions within the financing of health service in Poland.
After the breakfast, there will be a panel discussion on the health insurances with the Minister Szulc and the following experts:
Paweł Kalbarczyk, the Head of the Accident and Health Insurance Committee of PIU and the Directos of the Health Insurance Offices PZU Życie SA,
dr Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak, the former Undersecreatary of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Plicy,
Jacek Graliński, the Deputy Director for Medical Matters in the Child’s Health Center,
Agnieszka Deeg, Partner CMS Cameron McKenna, the Law Practice Coordinator in the Central and Esatrn Europe,
Tomasz Jędorowicz, Senior Manager Healthcare Team, PricewaterhouseCoopers,
The discussion will be moderated by Mr Martin Oxley, the General Director of BPCC.
The Audit Committee of the Polish Insurance Association accepted the resolution condemning the efforts to change the functioning formula of the insurance self-government. The resolution was accepted unanimously. Nine out of eleven members of the Committee were against the changes, one abstained from voting and one was absent.
The Committee expressed its discontent and protested against the efforts to undermine the present legal formula of the activity of the insurance economic self-government without the approval of the statutory organs of the self-government and any consultations with a representative part of the insurance market.
The Committee was expressly for retaining of the present legal formula of the insurance self-government which, according to the Committee, ensures integrity, representativeness and coherence in activities of PIU which is a representative of insurance companies.
Almost two years ago, a serious and profound discussion emerged among the insurance community and it concerned the functioning formula of its self-government, its structure and the character of membership. The discussion resulted in the present condition and form of PIU functioning which was agreed by the General Meeting of the Association in 2008.
Today the President of the Board of the Polish Insurance Association forwarded the resolution of the Audit Committee of PIU to the Minister of Finances.
After the session of the Parliamentary Commission on Infrastructure concerning keeping trailers in the catalogue of motor vehicles, subject to the amendments by Senat’s amendment of the act on road transportation, the parliament accepted the amendments of the Senate in a plenary voting. At the same time, it accepted the postulates of the Polish Insurance Association to approve the regulations which would force trailers to have a mandatory third party liability insurance. PIU opted for this solution during the activity of the parliament Commission on Infrastructure as well as Senate National Economy Commission.
Only 2 Members of Parliament voted for the rejection of the amendment of the Senate, while 404 of the Members of Parliament voted against the rejection of the amendments. 1 MP abstained from voting.
The bill will be forwarded to the President for a written consent.
During the legislative activities, the PIU pointed out threats stemming from the abolition of the obligation to ensure the third party liability insurance for trailers, not only in regard to the limitation of casualties protection, but also to the inconsistency of such solution with the EU Law, which provides that the word “vehicle” means: “every motor vehicle (…) and every trailer connected (or not) to it.
The Polish Insurance Association took the patronage over further special supplements to “Dziennik gazeta Prawna.” During winter holidays, the most popular topics are travels and travel insurance. The first supplement on this topic was included in “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” on the 22nd of January and the next one was issued on the 12 of February the same year.
Except for interesting places for winter trips, the supplements present the most important matters to bear in mind while travelling. Travel insurance policies are an indispensible part of this topic, therefore the supplement presented the assistance offers available on the Polish market.
This was the second supplement to “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” of that type, in which the Association served as a partner. Last year PIU cooperated with the paper within a project informing of the most important matters related to modern forms of sales of insurance, the topics of health insurances and legal protection insurances.
The Association realized similar undertakings earlier together with one of the biggest women’s magazines “Pani Domu”.
Download:
The first page of the touristic supplement to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna from the 12th February.
The part concerning insurances in the supplement to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna from the 12th January.
The first page of the touristic supplement to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna from the 22nd February.
The part concerning insurances in the supplement to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna from the 22nd January.
The General Meeting of the Polish Insurance Association appointed Witold Wilkowiak for the Vice President of the Board of PIU.
Since 2009, Witold Wilkowiak has been managing the activity of the Economic and Financial Commission in PIU. The first period of his professional career was his work for the Institute of Finance between 1980-1991
Then he started working for Bank Handlowy where he had managing functions within financial matters between 1991 and 2000. Between 2000-2001, he was the Vice President of Bank BPH. He was the vice president of the bank in 2001-2003.
His further professional experience was related to the insurance sector: 2003-2006, he was a member of the of PZU SA where he was responsible for financial, administration and logistic matters. 2006-2008 he was the financial director of the European Department of Eureko B.V., while he also was a member of Board of Directors and the President of the Audit Committee in such insurance companies as Friends First (Ireland) i Interamerican (Greece).
Witold Wilkowiak is 52. He is the graduate of the University of economics and he has the PhD title in economic science.
The present Board of Directors of PIU consists of : Jan Prądzyński – the President of the Board, Witold Wilkowiak – Vice President of the Board, Andrzej Maciążek – a Member of the Board.
The Polish Insurance Association approved of another member – Atradius Credit Insurance NV Spółka Akcyjna, Branch in Poland. At present the insurance self-government gathers 80 members.
Atradius offers a wide range of solutions within the due payments’ management which protect enterprises from market threats in the local and global trade.
Paweł Szczepankowski is the Managing Director of Atradius Credit Insurance NV Spółka Akcyjna Branch in Poland.
The Polish Insurance Association became a substantial partner of the special supplement to „Dziennik Gazeta Prawna,” devoted to the subject of insurances. It was issued within the paper on the 9th Decmber this year.
The supplement feature topics related to modern forms of sales of insurances, the topics of health insurances and legal protection insurances.
That was the first supplement to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna of that type in which the Association served as a partner. Next year, there will be an increasing number of publications describing our market in daily press.
The supplement to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna is a continuation of activities launched this autumn aimed at popularizing insurance services in special partner’s programs with press publishers. The program realized together with one of the biggest interest women’s magazines, Pani Domu and it became highly popular.
Another unit joined the Polish Insurance Association: RGA International Reinsurance Company Limited, Branch in Poland. At present, the Association consists of 79 units.
RGA International Reinsurance Company Limited, Branch in Poland is the only branch active in Poland of this foreign reinsurer.
Sylwester Rakowski is the General Director of RGA International Reinsurance Co Ltd Branch in Poland.
