BaFin Clarifies Transparency Requirements for White-Label Insurance
The Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin, German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) intends to make it easier to identify the actual insurer in white-label insurance arrangements. To this end, on October 28, 2026, it submitted a draft circular entitled “Identifiability of the Insurer in the White-Label Model” for public consultation.
With the planned circular, BaFin seeks to explain how it interprets insurers’ statutory information duties in such distribution models. A final version is not yet available.
How White-Label Models Work
Insurance Products Under a Third Party’s Name
In a white-label model, an insurer develops a product for a partner company. However, the product is generally not marketed under the insurer’s name. Instead, the partner company markets the insurance contract under its own name and usually also handles communications with customers.
In this context, the term “white label” describes a product that does not bear its manufacturer’s brand. This may give policyholders the impression that the partner company presented to the public is also the insurer.
The Risk Carrier Remains the Contracting Party
In the information provided before the contract is concluded and in the contractual documents, the actual insurer is often referred to merely as the “risk carrier.” According to BaFin’s consumer information, the insurer is identified in the Allgemeine Versicherungsbedingungen (General Terms and Conditions of Insurance). It is the legal contracting party and bears the financial risk associated with the insurance contract.
By contrast, the partner company is primarily responsible for marketing the product. Due to its prominent public-facing role, customers may not always readily recognize that the insurance coverage is provided not by that company but by the insurer behind it.
Requirements for Informing Policyholders
The Insurer’s Identity Must Be Clear
BaFin expects insurers to comply with their statutory information duties in white-label arrangements as well. These include, in particular:
- The prescribed information must make the insurer’s identity clear.
- The presentation must comply with the transparency requirement.
- The information must comply with the requirement of truthfulness.
If the actual insurer is identified in the documents only as the risk carrier, BaFin considers that this may conflict with statutory information duties. The decisive issue is whether policyholders can sufficiently identify the company with which they are entering into the insurance contract.
Responsibilities May Be Difficult to Distinguish
According to BaFin’s consumer information, white-labeling may also make it more difficult to distinguish the respective responsibilities of the insurer and the partner company. This may also affect complaints and lead to delays.
The planned circular is intended to clarify the supervisory interpretation of the existing requirements for white-label models. In doing so, BaFin aims to make the insurer’s actual role more readily apparent to customers.
Public Consultation on the Circular
Comments Accepted Until November 25, 2026
According to BaFin, comments on the draft may be submitted by email until November 25, 2026. Submissions must state the Geschäftszeichen (reference number) “WVA 1-QB 4402/00201#00014” and use the subject line “Comments in Connection with Consultation 11/2026.”
As the consultation process is still ongoing, the final content of the circular has not yet been determined. BaFin also provides consumers with its own information on white-label insurance.
Contractual Classification of White-Label Products
Clearly identifying the contracting parties and their respective obligations is of considerable importance in white-label models. This applies both to the drafting of the contractual documents and to the allocation of communications, benefit commitments, and responsibilities. Companies, investors, and policyholders may contact MTR Legal regarding related legal issues and obtain legal advice on contract law.
