From the series of newsletters of the DHBW (Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University) Heidenheim on the topic “Mediation Law in Practice”:
At this point, lawyer Dr. Johannes Fiala, https://www.fiala.de, lecturer for insurance law at the DHBW Heidenheim, will answer your questions. Questions can be asked by emailing ott@dhbw-heidenheim.de.
Tipsters are persons who are not registered in the register of intermediaries of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, because they do not conclude a new insurance contract with an insurer.
Of course, these can be tied to an insurance intermediary (broker or agency). It is problematic that these are often already included in the first consultation, and are mostly not (co-)insured, especially in the VSH. This can later mean ruin for the client of the tipster if the tipster has given incorrect advice. Every insurance intermediary (whether agent, multiple agent or broker) is therefore advised to have his tipsters included in the VSH. It is unproblematic to remunerate a (contractually correctly integrated) tipster – for example in the case of success. What is important is that it is a case-by-case cooperation that is clearly documented for each individual case. If, for example, the tipster had to work off telephone lists, problems with bogus self-employment could arise in terms of tax and social insurance. Therefore, the intermediary must take care to ensure that all contracts with its employees – including tipsters – are drawn up correctly.
Dr. Johannes Fiala
(DHBW Newsletter 11/2010, 2)
Courtesy of www.dhbw-heidenheim.de.
