(Reuters) -Spain’s antitrust watchdog said on Tuesday it had opened an investigation into Italian insurer Generali and local health insurance provider Sanitas over potential anti-competitive practices.
The CNMC watchdog said the probe focused on an agreement signed in October 2022 under which Generali customers gained access to Sanitas’ healthcare network.
The deal may have involved price-fixing and agreements to limit competition between the insurers, either for specific clients or in unrelated markets, the CNMC said.
Generali said it was “confident” the agreement with Sanitas complied “with the law in terms of competition”, adding it remained “at the disposal of the CNMC to provide all the necessary information”.
“This is a standard service provision reinsurance agreement in the industry”, the Italian insurer said in a statement.
Sanitas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A decision is due within 24 months, the CNMC said.
(Reporting by Marta Serafinko. Additional reporting by Gianluca Semeraro. Editing by Inti Landauro and Mark Potter)
