Germany: brokers and agents between commission and “client benefit”

Germany is one of the most instructive markets for agents and brokers. Intermediary statuses are clearly separated here, a public register is maintained, and the debate over commission-based remuneration has been going on for many years.

Who Is Who: § 34d of the Trade Regulation Act

The status of an intermediary is determined by § 34d of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO):

• Versicherungsvertreter (agent) acts on behalf of one insurer or several (a so-called Mehrfachvertreter).
• Versicherungsmakler (broker) works on behalf of the client and is not authorised by the insurer. The licence gives the broker one more right: to advise businesses, but not consumers, on insurance contracts for a separate fee.
• Versicherungsberater (insurance consultant) advises clients and receives no benefit whatsoever from insurers.

Licences are issued by the chambers of commerce and industry (IHK). A "tied" agent can be registered by the insurer itself, in which case the agent does not need its own licence. All intermediaries must complete 15 hours of professional development per calendar year.

Register Figures

According to DIHK statistics for October 2026, the register contains 179,065 entries:

• 47,329 licensed brokers;
• 27,270 licensed agents;
• 97,896 "tied" agents;
• 5,629 agents and 605 brokers who sell insurance as an add-on to a main product;
• 336 insurance consultants.

As of 1 January 2026, there were 178,791 entries. The trade press notes a long-term trend: the number of agents is declining while the number of brokers is growing.

Commissions: What the EU Decided

In May 2023, the European Commission proposed, as part of the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), a partial ban on commissions: for sales of insurance-based investment products without advice and for "independent" advice. The German intermediary associations BVK and AfW strongly opposed it.

Following the political agreement between the EU Council and the European Parliament on 18 December 2025, there is no ban. Instead, an inducement test is being introduced: remuneration is permitted if it provides a tangible benefit to the client and is disclosed separately from other costs. EU countries may introduce a ban on their own.

In June 2026, the final text was approved by representatives of the member states. BVK welcomed the abandonment of the ban but considers the "client benefit" criterion to be the main open issue and has commissioned an expert opinion on it.

National Agenda: Commission Cap and Pension Reform

In 2019, the German Ministry of Finance drafted a commission cap (Provisionsdeckel) for life insurance: 2.5% of the total premiums under a contract, up to 4% if quality criteria are met. The cap was never introduced for life insurance. A statutory limit applies only to credit balance insurance, since 1 July 2022.

A new pressure point is the reform of private pension savings. The Bundestag passed the law on 27 March 2026 and the Bundesrat on 8 May 2026. From 1 January 2027, pension depots are being introduced, and for the standard product effective costs are capped at 1% (the draft had 1.5%).

At the Bundestag hearings, the insurers' association GDV pointed to an uneven playing field. Banks and neobrokers will be able to sell the standard product without advice, while in insurance distribution advice is mandatory by law.

BaFin: Focus on Cost and Value

In its "Risks in Focus 2026" review, BaFin singled out risks for consumers for the first time. On 19 June 2026, the regulator published the results of its review of 54 life insurers:

• in the most expensive market segment, effective costs for unit-linked and hybrid policies fell by more than 0.4 percentage points, to 1.9% per year over a 30-year term;
• on surrender after 15 years, costs reach about 3.2%, and by that time roughly half of clients terminate their contracts;
• all insurers now know whether fund management companies pay kickbacks to intermediaries. BaFin requires them to check whether such payments create the wrong incentives.

What This Means for Brokers

• Commission remains a lawful form of remuneration, but it increasingly has to be justified by the benefit to the client and supported by documents.
• Under close supervisory scrutiny are savings policies, especially early surrender costs and kickbacks.
• For Kazakhstan, the German experience shows how a clear separation of agent and broker statuses works in combination with a public register and mandatory annual training.