• PZU possibly limited the right of consumers to cancel the civil liability (CL) policy when they had double insurance.
• Contact with the PZU helpline or agent meant the conclusion of a new CL contract, which the consumer could not cancel.
• PZU will change the rules, when a customer cancels the CL agreement.

Proceedings against PZU (Universal Insurance Company) were initiated in September 2017 after the notification of the Financial Ombudsman. UOKiK questioned actions of adverse effect to drivers.

Everyone who owns a car must have a civil liability insurance policy. The contract is concluded for one year. Before the contract expires, insurers deliver written notice of insurance for the next 12 months. If the consumer does not cancel the contract at least one day before its end, it will be automatically renewed for the next year. An automatically renewed contract may be cancelled if the driver, at the same time, has a CL policy at another insurance company. In this way, they can avoid having double CL insurance.

Drivers, whose CL insurance policy at PZU was nearly expired, received letters specifying the insurance terms for the next period. When they contacted the PZU helpline, agent or branch, PZU assumed a new contract was being concluded. However, if a consumer had not cancelled the existing contract, the insurer should have considered it automatically prolonged. It had certain consequences as PZU claimed that drivers could not cancel such contracts even though they had a CL insurance policy at another company. Therefore, consumers had to pay premiums for two policies.

UOKiK decided that PZU's practice may limit the consumer's right to cancel an automatically renewed contract.

PZU avoided the fine as it committed itself to change the questioned practice. This means that PZU:

• will acknowledge cancellation of contracts by consumers up to three years back, if consumers still want to cancel the contracts,
• will repay a proportional part of the premium charged when the consumer had
  a double CL insurance. To take advantage of this option, a letter specifying bank account number for the transfer should be sent to PZU,
• will allow consumers to cancel contracts that have been automatically renewed if, at the same time, they have a CL policy at another insurer.

PZU will also publish information on these solutions on its website and in the press, and will also prepare relevant leaflets.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
Email: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Branches of the Consumer Federation
Consumer ombudsmen – in your town or county
Financial Ombudsman - when a complaint has been rejected by a financial institution

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone: +48 695 902 088
Email: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL