Spain
Mapping of claims against insurance intermediaries
Spain stands out in a study of its market structure where agents operating on an exclusive basis are the overwhelming majority of insurance intermediaries, far ahead of brokers or bancassurance operators. Agents fall into two categories: they can work exclusively with one insurance company (first category: tied agents) or with several insurance companies (second category: multi-tied agents). The same distinction applies to bancassurance operators, who can operate as tied or multi-tied agents.
The courts have placed particular emphasis on the distinction between these two categories of intermediaries, one representing the insured and the other representing the insurer.