Here is how the Agcm estruculia Facile.it and Prima Assicurazioni
Because the Antitrust has started an investigation on Facile.it for two alleged unfair commercial practices. All the details
Woe without end for Facile.it
Facile.it also ends up in the spotlight of Agcm.
The Antitrust Authority has in fact initiated an investigation – for two alleged unfair commercial practices – against the companies Facile.it, Facile.it insurance broker and Facile.it credit mediation.
THE ACCUSATION
Facile.it, a leading company in the comparison of insurance, mortgages, loans, energy tariffs, telephony and current accounts, founded by Alberto Genovese ( businessman arrested on Saturday 7 November in Milan, for sexual violence against a girl) is accused of violating the consumer code, in carrying out the comparison activity on its website.
CHOICE NOT CONSCIOUS FOR CONSUMERS
In particular, according to the Authority, both on the personal loans front and on the TPL policies "the information provided to the consumer would not indicate or would indicate in a misleading way important elements for making an informed choice", writes Agcm , explaining that this problem it concerns "the economic conditions of the loans advertised on the comparator site, the probability of approval of any loan request, the criteria and methods of comparison and definition of the ranking of the offers being compared".
CAR POLICIES
For TPL policies, in particular, Facile.it does not specify that these are insurance based on the indirect compensation system, characterized by a less efficient service in the liquidation phase.
AGGRESSIVE PRACTICES
Agcom also adds that "the procedures aimed at soliciting the consumer to purchase an insurance policy initially proposed as optional or specific loans at a stage in which the consumer has not yet decided which product to choose could be potentially aggressive."
DO YOU FAVOR FIRST INSURANCE?
And there is more. Furthermore, Facile.it would favor, to the detriment of other insurance intermediaries, the products of Prima Assicurazioni SpA, of which Alberto Genovese is the leading shareholder with 58.3%. The second shareholder is Hexagon holdings, with about 11%, followed by Octagon holdings, which owns 9.6%, while Elq investors owns 6.5% and 4.7%. Beluga holding owns 4.2%. Among the other minority shareholders also Massimo Bambini.
THE NUMBERS OF FIRST INSURANCE
Prima Assicurazioni boasts 900,000 customers and closed 2019 with total revenues of 27,996,143, a marked increase compared to the 17,046,272 euros of 31 December 2018. However, the losses also increased: 14,338,749 euros against the 420,314 euros of red. in 2018. Costs increased to 42,337,316 euros (17,387,801 euros in 2018).
THE SEARCHES OF AGCM
With the aim of verifying the allegations, the officials of the Authority, with the help of the special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, carried out inspections at the offices of Facile.it SpA, Facile.it Broker di Assicurazioni SpA and Prima Assicurazioni SpA
THE NOTE OF FACILE.IT
“The work of Facile.it is based on total transparency and consumer protection” is what the online policy comparison platform itself ensures after the investigation by the Antitrust Authority. “Our mission – Easy.it continues in a note – is to provide customers with a comparison tool that can help them save on the main items of family spending; commitment that we have been carrying out for years in full compliance with current regulations and the regulations of the authorities. The company collaborates with the authorities and is sure that the investigations will soon lead to the clarification of Facile.it's position ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/gcm-sfruculia-facile-it-prima-assicurazioni/ on Tue, 09 Feb 2021 14:16:07 +0000.