Insurance broker

Insurance provide insurance contracts between two parties, mostly insurance companies and policyholders. They are merchants under commercial law pursuant to § 7 ​​para 2 no. 7 HGB and § 93 HGB determined as a trade broker. Insurance brokers are not contractually bound to an insurance company, but stand as a " trustee -like guardian " of the interests of the policyholder on its side.

The rights and obligations of the insurance broker in relation to the assignment from him policyholders depend on the brokerage contract. Additional rights and responsibilities are defined in the Act on the insurance contract. The scope of the duties regularly affects not only the determination of an adequate insurance protection and the provision of appropriate, more favorable to the policyholder contracts, but also the management, maintenance and updating of these insurance contracts. This includes the relaying of an existing (capital) insurance policy to a third party, as this usually a better economic result compared to a possible termination can be achieved; this follows from § 93 HGB explicitly and implicitly from § 59 para 3 SG.

For a culpable breach of his duties of Insurance shall be liable to the policyholder and must for this risk professional liability insurance in the form of property damage liability insurance have been completed with sufficient coverage. This liability obligation is for him even if the error or fault is attributable to its employees (see § 278 BGB).

The brokers also include credit insurance and factoring broker

Profession and practice of the profession

The broker, also referred to as a broker is not tied to any insurance company. He receives from the Customer consulting and mediation order. His loyalty is to the client or clients in the first place. Error of the broker are attributed to the policyholder.

On behalf of the customer, the broker valued the market for the requirement criteria of the policyholder. A key consideration is the price-performance ratio; basis of which is the insurance broker a recommendation. This market assessment will take place separately for each class of insurance.

Insurance, as the other insurance intermediaries registered in a central, public database, the insurance intermediary register. It is run by the German Industry and Commerce. 46 227 Of the 254 609 registered in Germany intermediaries have the broker status.

According to the judgment of the Supreme Court of 22 May 1985, Case No. IVa ZR 190/83 is the broker a so-called guardian of the customer and thus in the field of financial services, ie the business as an independent financial consultant and independent insurance broker, a position similar to a lawyer or accountant. He has to represent the interests of its customers, to ensure a sufficient overview of the market to prove this and may be held liable by the customer.

Access to the Profession

Prerequisite for the practice of the profession is a business registration as well as a special business license for insurance mediation. To obtain this authorization, the applicant must

• Demonstrate the required expertise,
• Demonstrate sufficient collateral coverage of professional liability insurance and maintain and
• Demonstrate the reliability necessary and orderly financial circumstances

Evidence of competence

The expertise may be demonstrated in various ways, in particular by

• The deposition of the proficiency examination at the Commerce and Industry Chamber, also referred to as a test for an insurance specialist (CCI),
• Proof of successful completion as Kaufmann for Insurance and Finance (formerly: insurance salesman )
• Business Administrator for Insurance and Finance (CCI) (formerly insurance qualifications )
• Business Administrator for Financial advice ( IHK)

Reliability and overall financial situation

As unreliable in the sense of the Commercial Code is a person who has been convicted in the last five years preceding the application for a crime or for theft, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, forgery, receiving stolen property, extortion, or a bankruptcy crime. The law is of particular disordered financial circumstances of when insolvency proceedings have been opened.

The contractual relationship between client and broker

The contractual relationship between the policyholder and the insurance broker is regulated in a brokerage contract. Since then, the EU Mediation Directive was implemented in December 2006, in German law, the broker must have the client's wishes and the resulting proposals to create a written documentation before signing the contract, if the customer does not reject it, or if the selected insurer provides temporary coverage. It must be delivered to the customer with a copy to the contract. A waiver by the customer on a consultation document can be detrimental for him in case of dispute - therefore this information must be recorded in writing about any disadvantages in " consulting and documentation waiver ".

In addition to the brokerage contract / order, there is the related brokerage authority. This authority legitimizes the broker to the outside, for example in relation to the insurance company as the trustee of the customer. With this authority, the broker may terminate, for example, on behalf of the clients insurance or sign a settlement of claims.

To avoid irregularities in the area of insurance mediation, have the General Association of German Insurers (GDV ) and the Federal Association of German Insurance ( BDVM ) - Today the Association of German Insurance ( VDVM ) - 1980 negotiated a point system for preventing improper configuration of broker agreements, which in 1981 went into effect. The provisions of point system are designed so that they meet the legal supervision by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ( BaFin ). He should take into account the interests of policyholders (consumer protection) and ensure fair competition among brokers.

Remuneration of the broker

The insurance broker is one of the insurance agents and can therefore only for the successful placement of an insurance contract claim compensation ( commission ). The consultancy is a service ancillary to the main power of the mediation and must not be billed separately. An exception provision, § 34d para 1 sentence 4 Industrial Code at entrepreneurs. After that, the insurance broker is authorized to third parties who are not (end ) are a consumer, in the agreement, modification or testing of insurance contracts for an additional payment ( fee ) to advise law.

Demarcation from other insurance intermediaries

The insurance agent, unlike the insurance broker, Geschäftsbesorger of the insurance company and thus represents primarily the interests. Error of the insurance agents are the insurance company allocated as own knowledge ( § 278 BGB). Other names for the insurance agents are an agent, exclusive sales, agency sales, exclusive agent, sales of the insurance company, Tied Agent. Also to the insurance agents are independent agents which initiate transactions for several insurance companies.

Professional organization

There is no statutory professional organization for insurance brokers. Important professional organizations are the Association of German Insurance ( VDVM ) and the AfW - Federation financial services.

Criticism

The broker will indeed ordered by the customer, but usually paid by the insurance company by a brokerage fee. If it receives from different companies different levels of brokerage fees, conflicts of interest, the broker may arise.

History of the profession

The job description of an insurance broker developed to the extent that such insurance has developed into an instrument to hedge financial risks against the payment of a contribution. The first testimonies top Italian agent documented in Genoa insurance contracts from the years 1154 to 1164 apply.

The oldest document stating the name of a broker, dates from the year 1319th He was called Bardo from Pisa. The oldest surviving Seeversicherungsvertrag from Germany dates from 1588 and was completed in Hamburg. At the conclusion of this contract worked with brokers.

From the year 1642 ' hamburgische Mäklerordnung ', according to which only " ... good, capable people are assumed to be sworn agents ... ". Furthermore, this order contains a wealth of other duties.

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 repeal of the Institute of sworn brokers " of 1871.