Recital 47

(47) It is important to prevent practices, such as tying of certain products, which may induce consumers to enter into credit agreements which are not in their best interest, without however restricting product bundling which can be beneficial to consumers. Member States should, however, continue monitoring retail financial services markets closely to ensure that bundling practices do not distort consumer choice or competition. As a general rule, tying practices should not be allowed unless the financial service or product offered together with the credit agreement could not be offered separately as it is a fully integrated part of the credit, for example in the case of an overdraft facility. While, taking into account proportionality considerations, a creditor should be able to require the consumer to have a relevant insurance policy in order to guarantee repayment of the credit or to insure the value of the security, the consumer should have the opportunity to choose his or her own insurance provider. This should not prejudice the credit conditions set by the creditor, provided that the insurance policy of that provider has an equivalent level of guarantee as the insurance policy proposed or offered by the creditor. Moreover, Member States should have the possibility to standardise, wholly or in part, the cover provided by insurance contracts in order to facilitate comparisons between different offers for consumers who wish to make such comparisons. In order for the consumer to have additional time to compare insurance offers before purchasing an insurance policy, Member States should require that the consumer is given at least three days to compare insurance offers related to the credit agreement, without the offer being changed, and the consumer is informed thereof. Consumers should be able to conclude an insurance policy prior to the expiry of that three-day period if they explicitly so request.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-07-30 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.