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The conflict between the Swiss Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Finma) and Comparis hit the headlines in March this year. The comparison platform announced that it had to lay off a large number of people due to restructuring. One reason: the dispute with Finma. Now, almost seven months later, the next boom is coming.
Finma classified Comparis as an insurance intermediary as part of a procedure. This means the company must now register as an insurance broker and will be regulated as such. However, Compari will appeal this decision.
Collecting profits is not yet a problem
Six months ago, Comparis was afraid it might be expensive. At the time, Finma announced that it could retroactively collect profits from Comparis’ insurance brokerage since 2015. However, the current decision does not include such a “confiscation of unlawfully seized profits” issue.
With Finma’s decision, Comparis must immediately register in the register of insurance intermediaries and “comply with the prescribed information obligations to consumers”, Finma said in a statement on Friday morning.
Comparison disagrees
However, Comparis denies being an insurance broker. Finma has already been aligned and the processes have been adapted on a voluntary basis. Comparis processes quote orders through a registered agent.
However, Finma does not accept this. Comparis adapted its original business model by ordering quotes from a sister company registered as an insurance broker. But the authority maintains that insurance comparison is a “critical function” in underwriting a product and that it belongs to Comparis.
According to Finma’s statement, the decision is not yet legally binding. It was predictable that Comparis now wanted to challenge this. “The court must consider the matter from an impartial perspective,” Comparis founder and Chairman Richard Eisler said in a statement today, Friday. The company had previously announced that it would refer such a decision to the Federal Administrative Court. (SDA/wgr)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
