Article 81(1) of the EC Treaty prohibits all anti-competitive agreements between undertakings. The European Commission has however adopted various block exemptions.

The insurance block exemption regulation grants an exemption to the application of competition rules.  This covers certain agreements, joint calculations, tables and studies, standard policy conditions (SPCs), common coverage of certain types of risks (pools) and security devices.  The Regulation was due to expire on 31 March 2010.

The new block exemption entered into force on 1 April and includes some changes to the previous regime.  The exemptions for SPCs and security devices have been removed.  The exemptions for joint compilations and pools remain but have been amended.

An agreement which falls outside the Regulation does not necessarily infringe competition rules. The parties must carry out a self assessment as to whether such agreement is permitted.