1.Insurance and reinsurance intermediaries shall be registered with a competent authority as defined in Article 7(2), in their home Member State.
Without prejudice to the first subparagraph, Member States may stipulate that insurance and reinsurance undertakings and other bodies may collaborate with the competent authorities in registering insurance and reinsurance intermediaries and in the application of the requirements of Article 4 to such intermediaries. In particular, in the case of tied insurance intermediaries, they may be registered by an insurance undertaking or by an association of insurance undertakings under the supervision of a competent authority.
Member States need not apply the requirement referred to in the first and second subparagraphs to all the natural persons who work in an undertaking and pursue the activity of insurance or reinsurance mediation.
As regards legal persons, Member States shall register such persons and shall also specify in the register the names of the natural persons within the management who are responsible for the mediation business.
2.Member States may establish more than one register for insurance and reinsurance intermediaries provided that they lay down the criteria according to which intermediaries are to be registered.
Member States shall see to it that a single information point is established allowing quick and easy access to information from these various registers, which shall be compiled electronically and kept constantly updated. This information point shall also provide the identification details of the competent authorities of each Member State referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph. The register shall indicate further the country or countries in which the intermediary conducts business under the rules on the freedom of establishment or on the freedom to provide services.
3.Member States shall ensure that registration of insurance intermediaries — including tied ones — and reinsurance intermediaries is made subject to the fulfilment of the professional requirements laid down in Article 4.
Member States shall also ensure that insurance intermediaries — including tied ones — and reinsurance intermediaries who cease to fulfil these requirements are removed from the register. The validity of the registration shall be subject to a regular review by the competent authority. If necessary, the home Member State shall inform the host Member State of such removal, by any appropriate means.
4.The competent authorities may provide the insurance and reinsurance intermediaries with a document enabling any interested party by consultation of the register(s) referred to in paragraph 2 to verify that they are duly registered.
That document shall at least provide the information specified in Article 12(1)(a) and (b), and, in the case of a legal person, the name(s) of the natural person(s) referred to in the fourth subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article.
The Member State shall require the return of the document to the competent authority which issued it when the insurance or reinsurance intermediary concerned ceases to be registered.
5.Registered insurance and reinsurance intermediaries shall be allowed to take up and pursue the activity of insurance and reinsurance mediation in the Community by means of both freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services.
6.Member States shall ensure that insurance undertakings use the insurance and reinsurance mediation services only of registered insurance and reinsurance intermediaries and of the persons referred to in Article 1(2).