Insurance advisor

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The insurance advisor advises and supports companies , the self-employed , private customers and authorities on their behalf on all forms of individual insurance and is therefore obliged to provide advice based on the personal needs identified. Insurance advisors are not to be confused with insurance intermediaries .

tasks

The insurance advisors are specialized legal advisors . They prepare risk analyzes for their clients, advise on insurance coverage that is tailored to the needs of the client and negotiate with insurers . They represent their clients out of court vis-à-vis the respective insurer in the event of damage. In the commercial, industrial area, they can also perform their work as an outsourced insurance department of the company. You are therefore constantly working there on the basis of a service contract. In doing so, they continuously check the current insurance coverage and conclude new contracts (BVerfG, 1 BvR 981/81).

Furthermore, they can exercise an expert opinion, also before courts. Brokerage in exchange for brokerage / commission on the part of the insurer is prohibited by law ( Section 34e (1) GewO in the version valid before July 29, 2017 [old version]). As a rule, the insurance advisors work for all branches of individual insurance. There are also insurance advisors who focus on individual target groups, e.g. B. specialized in trade, industry or municipalities. There are also specializations in the extrajudicial area of ​​damage. B. Processing of benefit cases in occupational disability and / or accident insurance. The handling and accompaniment of property damage (household effects, buildings, content insurance for companies, business interruption) are also part of her area of ​​responsibility.

The unconditional neutrality is guaranteed through the direct commissioning and also remuneration by the client.

In contrast to intermediaries, insurance advisors are also permitted to provide legal advice to consumers. For consultants and intermediaries alike, their activities are limited to the extrajudicial area. Insurance intermediaries are not legally allowed to advise consumers against a separate fee.

education

Since the change in brokerage law, training as an insurance specialist is sufficient for access to the activity . However, further qualifications are seen as necessary to cope with the daily tasks, e.g. B. as an insurance specialist or business or economist. However, legal qualifications are also recommended, as is professional experience in the insurance industry. In the meantime, various insurance courses are also offered at vocational colleges and universities of applied sciences.

costs

The remuneration for the consultation is negotiated directly between the consultant and the client. The client usually pays the consultant according to an hourly or daily rate to be agreed. In some cases, however, this can lead to a double burden if a product is purchased as a result of the advice, the price of which already includes advice from the insurer's sales force. The insurance advisor will take this into account, however, as he can also advise on products that do not include such costs. Possibly. the conclusion can also be made directly with an insurer without the right to advice from an agent of the insurer and consequently at correspondingly lower contributions .

Permission and registration

Insurance advisors were subject to the trade regulations ( § 34e GewO old version ) until July 28, 2017 . They still belong to the legal advisory professions. In accordance with Section 34e Paragraph 1 Clause 3 GewO a. F. the power to "advise third parties on the agreement, amendment or review of insurance contracts or in the exercise of claims from the insurance contract in the event of an insured event and to represent them out of court vis-à-vis the insurance company."

Section 34e (1) sentence 1 GewO a. F. said in the second half of the sentence: "[...] requires permission from the competent Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The permit can be restricted in terms of content and subject to conditions, insofar as this is necessary to protect the general public or the policyholder; The subsequent inclusion, modification and addition of conditions is also permitted under the same conditions. "

Section 34e Paragraph 2 a. F. i. V. m. Section 34d (7) sentence 1 GewO obliged the insurance advisor to be entered in the broker register in accordance with Section 11a (1) GewO. Information from the broker register is given in writing or via the Internet in accordance with Section 11a (2) GewO. The internet address is: www.vermittlerregister.info

§ 34e GewO was amended on July 29, 2017 by Art. 1 No. 6 i. V. m. Art. 6 sentence 2 of the law implementing Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 20, 2016 on insurance distribution and amending other laws, revised and since then does not contain any rules for insurance advisors. These regulations for insurance advisors, which have been moved to Section 34d GewO by the same law , came into force on February 23, 2018 (Art. 6 Clause 1 of the Amending Act ) due to an editorial mistake by the legislature .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Up to 2008: Art. 1 Section 1 Paragraph 1 Clause 2 No. 2 Legal Advice Act ; In accordance with Section 2 of the Introductory Act to the Legal Services Act, only the permit under Section 34e (1) of the Trade Regulations in the version applicable before July 29, 2017 (old version) remained.