The Danish competition authority, known as Konkurrencerådet, has initiated a market investigation into the private insurance market, particularly focusing on damage insurance. This decision follows an analysis conducted in April, which indicated that competition in the market for private damage insurance is facing challenges.

This marks the first time the authority has employed a market investigation, a new tool that allows intervention without the need for existing prohibitions under competition law to be violated. However, the authority must demonstrate that the behavior of insurance companies significantly weakens competition and meets several other conditions before taking action.

The investigation will scrutinize various types of private damage insurance, including home, contents, travel, and car insurance. It will specifically examine how companies set premiums and other policy terms, with a particular focus on their practices of indexing insurance premiums to wage developments in the private sector, as well as the lack of separate notifications to consumers regarding price increases.

A total of 27 companies operating in the private damage insurance sector will be included in the investigation. Once the Konkurrencerådet approves the investigation, the Competition and Consumer Authority will have a two-year timeframe to complete it.