Insurance Broker (Germany)
Insurance brokers mediate insurance contracts between two parties, mostly insurance companies and policyholders . They are merchants according to the commercial law according to § 7 Abs. 2 Ziff. 7 HGB and according to § 93 HGB determined as a trading broker . Insurance brokers are not contractually bound to an insurance company, but stand on the policyholder's side as “trustee-like trustees” of the interests of the policyholder.
The rights and obligations of the insurance broker towards the policyholder commissioning him depend on the brokerage contract . Additional rights and obligations are defined in the law on insurance contracts . The scope of the obligations not only relates to the determination of adequate insurance cover and the mediation of appropriate contracts that are favorable for the policyholder, but also to the administration, support and updating of these insurance relationships . This also includes the transfer of an existing (capital) insurance policy to third parties, as this usually results in a better economic result compared to a possible termination; this results explicitly from Section 93 HGB and implicitly from Section 59 (3) VVG .
The insurance broker is liable to the policyholder for a culpable breach of his obligations and must have taken out professional liability insurance in the form of financial loss insurance with sufficient coverage for this risk . This liability also applies to him if the error or fault is attributable to his employees (cf. § 278 BGB ).
Insurance brokers also include credit insurance brokers and factoring brokers .
Job description and practice
The broker, also known as a broker , is not tied to any insurance company. He receives a consulting and mediation contract from the customer. His loyalty is primarily to the customer or client. Mistakes made by the broker are attributed to the policyholder.
On behalf of the customer, the broker evaluates the market according to the policyholder's criteria. A decisive criterion is the price-performance ratio ; based on this, the insurance broker makes a recommendation. This market valuation takes place separately for each insurance class.
Insurance brokers, like other insurance intermediaries , are registered in a central and public database, the insurance intermediary register. It is held at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry . Of the 254,609 insurance intermediaries registered in Germany, 46,227 have broker status. However, this number is falling and the average age of insurance intermediaries is now 49 years. Many of the brokers are expected to retire in the coming years, including some who have not made timely succession arrangements.
According to the judgment of the Supreme Court of 22 May 1985, ref .: IVa ZR 190/83 the broker is a so-called guardian of the customer and has thus in the field of financial services, so the activity as an independent financial consultant and freelance insurance brokers, a position similar to a Lawyer or tax advisor. He has to represent the interests of his customer, to ensure a sufficient market overview, to prove this and can be held liable by the customer.
Professional access
The prerequisite for practicing the profession is a business registration and a special business license for insurance brokerage. In order to obtain this permit, the applicant must
- provide evidence of the required expertise,
- document and maintain adequate cover in professional liability insurance and
- prove the necessary reliability and orderly financial circumstances
Proof of expertise
The competence can be proven in different ways, in particular through
- taking the proficiency test at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry , also known as the insurance specialist exam (IHK),
- proof of successful completion as
- Insurance and finance clerk (formerly: insurance clerk)
- Specialist for insurance and finance (IHK) (formerly: insurance specialist)
- Specialist for financial advice (IHK)
- successful completion of university courses
- Jurisprudence
- Business administration specializing in insurance
Reliability and orderly financial circumstances
Unreliable in the sense of the trade regulations is anyone who has been convicted of a crime or theft, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, forgery, stolen goods, usury or an insolvency offense in the last five years prior to filing the application. The law assumes disorderly financial circumstances in particular if insolvency proceedings have been opened.
The contractual relationship between customer and broker
The contractual relationship between the policyholder and the insurance broker is regulated in a brokerage contract. Since the EU brokerage directive was implemented in German law in December 2006, the broker has to prepare written documentation about the wishes of the customer and the resulting proposals before the contract is concluded, unless the customer waives this or if the selected insurer grants provisional cover . A copy must be given to the customer before the contract is concluded. In the event of a dispute, the customer's waiver of consultation documentation can have a detrimental effect on him - this is why this information about possible disadvantages must be put down in writing in the "consultation and documentation waiver".
In addition to the brokerage contract / order, there is the associated broker power of attorney. This power of attorney legitimizes the broker externally, e.g. B. vis-à-vis the insurance company as the customer's trustee. With this power of attorney, the broker can z. B. terminate an insurance policy or register a claim settlement on behalf of the client.
In order to avoid grievances in the area of insurance brokerage, the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV) and the Federal Association of German Insurance Brokers (BDVM) - today the Association of German Insurance Brokers ( VDVM ) - negotiated a point catalog in 1980 to avoid improper arrangement of brokerage contracts, which was published in 1981 in Power has come. The provisions of the points catalog are designed in such a way that they meet the legal supervision of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BAFin). It should take the interests of policyholders into account ( consumer protection ) and ensure fair competition among brokers.
Remuneration of the broker
The insurance broker is one of the insurance brokers and can therefore only demand a fee (brokerage) for the successful mediation of an insurance contract. The advice is an ancillary service to the main service of the mediation and may not be billed separately. Section 34d (1) sentence 4 GewO permits an exception for entrepreneurs. According to this, the insurance broker is authorized to legally advise third parties who are not (end) consumers on the agreement, amendment or review of insurance contracts for a separate fee (fee).
Differentiation from other insurance intermediaries
The insurance agent , unlike the insurance broker, Geschäftsbesorger of the insurance company and primarily represents its interests. Errors made by the insurance agent are attributed to the insurance company as its own knowledge ( Section 278 of the German Civil Code). Other names for the insurance agent are agent , exclusive sales, agency sales, exclusive agent , insurance company sales force, tied agent. The insurance agents also include multiple agents who initiate business for several insurance companies.
Professional organization
There is no statutory professional organization for insurance brokers. Important professional associations are the Association of German Insurance Brokers (VDVM) and the Federal Association of German Insurance Merchants (BVK) as well as the AfW - Federal Association of Financial Services .
criticism
The broker is commissioned by the customer. As a rule, he receives a brokerage fee from the insurance company for his work. Since the companies pay different brokerage fees, conflicts of interest can arise for the broker. In addition, there is a temptation to convert contracts or sell unnecessary insurance to generate new deals with commission. The customer pays these costs - often without realizing it.
The broker is interested in a long-term business relationship with the insured, because the insurance broker receives the current fee, brokerage fee, only if the contract continues and is serviced. The insurance broker's recommendation can be quickly understood through the insurance comparisons made available to the insured on the market. If the policyholder is visibly defrauded, he or she will change the contract or terminate the brokerage service. The policyholder is given the reasons for the broker recommendation with the broker consultation protocol. For these reasons, conflicts of interest can hardly be deduced.
History of the profession
The professional profile of the insurance broker developed as insurance developed into an instrument for covering financial risks against the payment of a premium. Insurance contracts from the years 1154 to 1164, notarized in Genoa, are the first certificates from northern Italian brokers.
The oldest document showing the name of a realtor dates from 1319. His name was Bardo from Pisa. The oldest surviving marine insurance contract from Germany dates from 1588 and was concluded in Hamburg. Realtors participated in the conclusion of this contract.
The Hamburg Brokerage Code dates from 1642 , according to which only "... good, capable people are accepted as sworn brokers ...". Furthermore, these regulations contain a multitude of other obligations.
The profession and the monopoly of the sworn broker was abolished in Germany with the introduction of the General German Commercial Code of 1861 and the "Law Regarding the Repeal of the Institute of Sworn Brokers" of 1871.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ BGH , May 22, 1985, IVa ZR 190/83 .
- ↑ Registered insurance brokers. DIHK, as of September 28, 2012. Accessed November 8, 2012
- ↑ Christian Schnell: Insurance broker: The desperate search for the royal road. Retrieved July 18, 2019 .
- ↑ Broker Barometer 2019 - Broker Buy. In: - Broker purchase. Retrieved on July 18, 2019 (German).
- ↑ § 34d GewO
- ↑ § 1 VersVermV
- ↑ § 4 VersVermV
- ↑ § 34d Abs. 2 GewO
- ↑ VDH GmbH - Association of German Fee Consultants - Commission system failed ... Accessed on March 28, 2017 .
- ↑ live academy, HDI-Gerling Leben Vertriebsservice AG (ed.): Immaculate: The professional history of brokers , 2nd edition 2011, page 120, ISBN 978-3-00-025642-4
- ^ Peter Koch, History of the Insurance Industry in Germany, 2012, Page 44, ISBN 978-3899523713
- ↑ Annemarie Matusche, duties and liability of the insurance broker, 1995, page 3, ISBN 978-3884875247
- ↑ Annemarie Matusche, duties and liability of the insurance broker, 1995, page 8, ISBN 978-3884875247