Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK has filed charges against Compensa Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie. The company sent out offers to customers to extend their insurance coverage at higher premium and treated lack of customer’s response as a consent to the offer. Such a practice may violate the collective interests of consumers, which carries a penalty of up to 10 percent of the annual turnover of the company.
Compensa Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie S.A., a company belonging to Vienna Insurance Group, sent letters of thanks and information about a special offer to its customers in relation to the upcoming insurance anniversary. The letter includes an offer to extend the insurance coverage, e.g. to a hospital stay following an accident, which entailed an increase in the premium. The company directed its customers to the next page of the letter for details of the offer. It said that if the consumer is interested in the offer, all they have to do is pay a higher premium. Whereas, people who do not want to extend their insurance should notify Compensa. Consumers who failed to do so were then notified of the underpayment and urged to pay the missing amount.
„I would like to remind that the consumer is not obliged to go into the details of offers that are of no interest to them. At the same time, such significant changes as extending an ongoing insurance agreement to include additional risks and increasing the premium amount require the consumer’s clear, unambiguous consent. It cannot be implied, just as it would be inadmissible to conclude an insurance agreement on the basis of tacit approval of the customer” says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection initiated proceedings and charged Compensa Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie with a violation of collective consumer interests. If confirmed, the entrepreneur faces a penalty of up to 10 percent of the annual turnover.
