Digital identities are an essential component of the digital single market and of national and European economies. The insurance industry therefore welcomes the EC's initiative in this area and foresees a lot of potential in the insurance context, Insurance Europe said in its response to a consultation by the EC on its proposal for a European digital identity.

In the area of distribution, insurers could imagine the following use: clear and easy identification of potential customers, facilitating the possibility to register and access insurers' online services and enabling easy identification for single sign-on, ensuring that prospective customers are of legal age and therefore have full legal capacity to enter into a contract, etc.

Regarding the technical implementation of these provisions, among other things they should consider Digital Identity Wallet solutions, while maintaining a high level of security and trustworthiness to improve users' acceptance. Furthermore, digital identities could also help to simplify the fulfilment of data protection rights and make them more secure, the response said.