Insurance Europe: EC digital ID proposals welcomed in principle; should not increase regulatory burden

09 September 2020

Insurance Europe has today published its response to a roadmap consultation by the European Commission on an EU digital ID scheme. Digital identities and the associated processes of authentication and authorisation are an essential component of the digital single market.

Secure, easy-to-use digital identities, and their verification, that are available to all companies and EU citizens offer a high added value. Digital identities could, for example, help to simplify the fulfilment of data protection rights and make them more secure.

Insurance Europe believes that the extension of the legal framework to the private sector is to be welcomed in principle. However, this should not create an additional regulatory burden on companies. Double regulation and a lack of proportionality, which could have a negative impact on everyday business, should be avoided.

The legal framework should create harmonising framework conditions but should not reduce the efficiency of innovative solutions and business processes. Digital identification processes should be secure and compliant with data protection legislation, but not be subject to any higher legal requirements than non-digital solutions.

The insurance industry generally welcomes the introduction and voluntary use of a European digital identity system (EUid), as a supplementary electronic ID solution, especially for cross-border processes. However, there is a need for further clarity over the exact regulatory and technological implementation of such a system. It would therefore be important to involve the industry from the start in the development of any EUid scheme.

Response

Insurance Europe


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