The ECJ Weighs in on Check24's Insurance Comparison Service: Not Considered Comparative Advertising Under EU Law
Online Insurance Rate Comparison: EU Court Endorses Check24 Decision - Online Insurance Quotes Comparison Ruled Legal by ECJ: Check24 Verdict Upholded
In a noteworthy case, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently ruled on the dispute between insurance group Huk-Coburg and Check24. Check24 is a platform that compares insurance offers based on various criteria and assigns grades. Huk-Coburg argued that this grading system constituted impermissible comparative advertising.
According to EU law, comparative advertising is allowed under specific conditions. The Munich I Regional Court stayed the proceedings and asked the ECJ whether these conditions can be met in a grading or points system. Instead of directly answering this question, the ECJ first questioned whether an online comparison service can be generally considered comparative advertising. To establish this, the ECJ based its assessment on whether the provider is a competitor of the insurance company.
The ECJ determined that Check24, a third-party platform, is not an insurance company and operates primarily as a comparison and brokerage service, focusing on comparing tariffs and facilitating contracts with insurance providers. Therefore, it is likely that Check24 does not operate in the same service market as Huk-Coburg.
Consequently, the Munich court must now determine whether a competitive relationship exists between Check24 and Huk-Coburg based on whether their services are interchangeable and whether they operate in the same market.
- ECJ
- Check24
- Insurance Rate Comparison
- Comparison Platform
- Luxembourg
- Munich I Regional Court
- Competitive Relationship
- EU
[1] EU legislation on comparative advertising: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31997L0011&from=EN[2] ECJ Press Release on the Check24 case: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-03/cp210030en.pdf
- The European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg has confirmed that Check24, a comparison platform that offers insurance rate comparisons, is not considered comparative advertising under EU Law.
- In the case between insurance group Huk-Coburg and Check24, the ECJ found that since Check24 is a third-party platform, it is not an insurance company and operates primarily as a comparison and brokerage service, implying it does not directly compete with insurance providers like Huk-Coburg.
- The Munich I Regional Court is now tasked with determining whether a competitive relationship exists between Check24 and Huk-Coburg, based on whether their services are interchangeable and whether they operate in the same market.
- Under EU legislation on comparative advertising, a grading or points system like the one used by Check24 may be considered allowable only under specific conditions, and this question is still to be addressed by the courts.
