Regulating Digital Insurance Platforms in the EU: Legal Frameworks and Future Directions

The digital transformation of the insurance industry in the European Union (EU) creates both opportunities and regulatory challenges, requiring a balance between innovation, consumer protection, and market stability. This paper examines the evolving regulatory landscape for digital insurance platforms, focusing on the intersection of EU digital and insurance-specific regulations. The study explores how digital insurance platforms operate within the broader EU regulatory ecosystem by analysing key legislative milestones and legal frameworks. It assesses the implications of these frameworks for various stakeholders, including platform owners, policyholders, distributors, and emerging business models such as peer-to-peer insurance. The research further investigates the regulatory boundaries defining different digital insurance models and the complexities of ensuring compliance with business conduct rules in a digital environment. Findings highlight the tensions between fostering technological innovation and maintaining regulatory oversight, particularly in platform governance, robo-advisory services, and digital distribution. The paper concludes that while EU regulations seek to address these challenges, uncertainties persist in the classification and supervision of digital insurance platforms. It offers recommendations to enhance regulatory clarity, ensuring a framework supporting consumer protection and market development in the digital insurance landscape.