Insurance cartel ordered to pay a fine of more than 54 million euros
The Competition Authority ended proceedings relating to an insurance cartel and ordered the insurance companies and their executives to pay more than 54 million euros.
The investigation into this cartel commenced in May 2017 by hearing a request filed by Seguradora Unidas, S.A asking for immunity from paying a fine. In addition, the insurance companies Fidelidade – Companhia de Seguros S.A and Multicare – Seguros de Saúde S.A. also requested immunity. However, in this latter case, the insurance companies appeared secondly, and were only entitled to a reduction of the fine.
In the procedures and searches carried out in June and July 2017, the Competition Authority sent a statement of objections in August 2018 to the five insurance companies: Seguradora Unidas, Fidelidade, Multicare, Lusitania and Zurich.
In December 2018, Fidelidade and Multicare were ordered to pay a fine for 12 million euros. Seguradora Unidas, which had filed the leniency application, was then the only company involved in the proceedings which was fully exempted from paying a fine. This exemption was granted to it as it was the first insurance company to report the cartel and submit evidence relating to it, within the Leniency Program.
In August 2019, the Competition Authority ended the proceedings relating to Zurich and Lusitania, the insurance companies which still had to be convicted. These two companies, along with two managers and two directors, were ordered to pay 42 million euros.
The practice of this cartel consisted of agreeing the prices that the companies were to submit to large-scale clients when they were trying to take out work accident, health and automobile policies.
Thus, by combining the increase in prices to be submitted to clients, the insurance companies involved had greater possibilities of maintaining the contractual relations that they had established previously.
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