Application in the Insurance Sector of the Act on the Accessibility of Certain Products and Services by Economic Operators in Insurance Activity

The Act of 26 April 2024 on the Accessibility of certain products and services by economic operators in insurance activity entered into force on 28 June 2025 and specifies the accessibility requirements for products and services, the obligations of economic operators, and the system, rules and procedures for market supervision in the area of ensuring compliance with the accessibility requirements for products and services. The Act applies, among other things, to the distribution of insurance products to consumers who conclude insurance contracts at a distance, i.e. electronically via websites and mobile devices. However, the Act does not directly address the specific nature of insurance activities, which may raise doubts as to how it should be applied to the distribution of various insurance products, in particular group insurance. Insurance contracts are often multi-year contracts or create long-term relationships, and over time the characteristics of a customer may change, e.g. as a result of an accident, a customer may become a person with a disability. This results in the necessity to introduce functional changes to the customer service systems of insurance companies. The article discusses the application of the Act to insurance activities, digital accessibility criteria, the principle of proportionality in the application of the Act, the definition of a consumer, the application of the Act to insurance taken out on behalf of others, and requirements for financial institutions, as well as the proposal that the legislator consider subjecting entities from the insurance sector to the supervision of the Financial Supervision Authority (in Polish: Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego) in terms of the implementation of the Act's obligations, as is the case with banks.