Major changes to EU legislation for product liability could hamstring insurers’ abilities to continue covering certain risks.
The warning by Insurance Europe comes in its response to a European Commission questionnaire on adapting liability rules to the digital age and artificial intelligence (AI).
The trade body argued that European insurers already deliver a broad range of insurance products and services for AI users and producers. It called on the commission to refrain from introducing major reforms to the Product Liability Directive (PLD) to enable insurers to keep making accurate risk calculations and cater to constantly evolving market demands and realities.
The PLD should remain restricted to personal injury and property damage, as other types of damage and harm are already covered by existing legislation such as the Environmental Liability Directive and the General Data Protection Regulation respectively, Insurance Europe added.
New rules should only be considered in the case of a clear protection gap, which currently does not exist, it said, with enough insurance products already offering adequate protection to customers.
