EIOPA, Unit-linked Insurance and Polish Product Intervention: A Silent Regulatory Revolution?

Abstract

When the Polish financial market supervisor Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego (KNF) notified its intention to prohibit certain unit-linked insurance products marketed in Poland, it created an unprecedented situation: for the first time, a financial market supervisor decided to trigger Chapter III of the PRIIPs Regulation and adopt product intervention measures in the insurance sector. If adopted, these measures would regulate not only the investment strategies of unit-linked insurance products offered in Poland, but also their cost structure and terms and conditions. Is such far-reaching product intervention in compliance with the requirements of the PRIIPs Regulation? The European Insurance and Occupation Pensions Authority (EIOPA) tried to answer this question in its opinion on the justification and proportionality of the notified measures. The aim of this contribution is to critically analyse EIOPA’s opinion and explain the legal and practical ramifications of its findings. In particular, this article argues that despite its soft law nature and weaknesses of some of its findings, EIOPA’s opinion constitutes a major regulatory development in the insurance sector and raises several fundamental questions about the place of product intervention in the EU system of investor protection.