Imagine a potential client with a motor disability trying to purchase car insurance on your website. Navigate with the keyboard, but the “Calculate quote” button is inaccessible. Or an elderly person with low vision who cannot read the conditions of their policy in the PDF you have sent them. It’s not just lost sales or frustrated customers; as of June 28, 2025, are direct breaches of the European Accessibility Act for insurers.
Although the word “insurance” does not appear in the headline of the law, make no mistake: the EAA hits the heart of the insurance sector squarely. Because? Because your sales and service channels – websites, mobile applications, customer portals and online contracting – are explicitly covered by the regulations.
This guide is designed for you, a professional in the insurance sector. We will explain in a practical way how this law affects you and how to turn a legal obligation into a powerful competitive advantage.
Why is the EAA mandatory in insurance companies?
The answer is simple: because modern insurers operate like digital companies. Directive (EU) 2019/882 requires that the following services be accessible:
- E-commerce: The sale of a policy through your website or app is, for legal purposes, an e-commerce transaction. The entire process, from pricing to digital signature, must be accessible.
- Banking services for consumers: The insurance sector is closely linked to the financial sector. By analogy and due to the type of complex digital service offered, the requirements are applicable to customer portals and policy management apps.
- Websites and mobile applications: All services provided through these channels for transportation, banking or e-commerce must be accessible. Insurers’ services fit perfectly into this framework.
- Ignoring the EAA is, therefore, closing the door to an important segment of the population and exposing oneself to economic and reputational sanctions.
Impact Areas of the European Accessibility Act for insurers
To bring the law down to earth, here are the critical areas of your daily operations that you should audit and adapt immediately:
- Websites and Customer Portals: The online rater, the form to declare a claim, the private area to consult receipts or the pension plan calculator. Every click, every form field, must be usable by everyone.
- Mobile Applications: The app to request roadside assistance, the one that allows you to send an accident report with photos, or the one used to manage health insurance (request appointments, request reimbursements). All its functionalities must be operable with assistive technologies.
- Digital Documentation (The Critical Point): This is perhaps the biggest challenge. Policies, general and specific conditions, claims reports and communications, which are usually sent in PDF format, must be accessible. A simple scanned PDF (which is an image) is not valid. It must be a tagged and structured PDF so that screen readers can interpret it correctly.
- Online Hiring Processes: The entire digital sales funnel, from comparing coverage and selecting extras to entering personal data and payment, has to be a barrier-free path.
EAA Requirements (2025) for the Insurance Sector
What does “be accessible” mean in the context of insurance? Let’s translate the 4 principles of the EAA:
- Perceptible: Can a user with color blindness distinguish coverage graphs? Do videos explaining an accident have subtitles? Can a screen reader read aloud the clauses of a PDF policy?
- Operable: Can a customer fill out and submit an accident report using only the keyboard? Are there aggressive time limits on recruitment forms that disadvantage people who need more time to read?
- Understandable: Is the language used on the website clear and direct (Plain Language) or is it full of incomprehensible insurance jargon? When there is an error on a form, does the message help the user correct it? (Ex: “Incorrect date format, use DD/MM/YYYY.”)
- Robust: Does your customer portal work correctly with the latest versions of popular screen readers like VoiceOver (Apple) or TalkBack (Android)?
How can Insurers adapt to the European Accessibility Act?
1. Provision of services through digital channels
The article 2 of the Directive establishes that e-commerce services are covered. This includes:
Insurance portals where products are contracted.
- Mobile insurance apps.
- Private online customer areas (policy management, payments, claims).
- Management of electronic communications with the client.
Therefore, all digital interfaces of an insurer that allow contracting, managing or consulting services will be subject to accessibility requirements.
2. Customer Service
If an insurer provides customer service through electronic means (for example, chatbots, video calls, online portals), these services must be accessible.
3. Contractual and pre-contractual information
Digitized documentation (general conditions, offers, electronic contracts) must be presented in an accessible manner.
Downloadable PDF documents must comply with accessibility standards.
4. Payment and financial services
When the insurer offers associated payment services (for example, online direct debit, virtual POS, payments from the app), it also falls within the covered scope.
5. Inclusion in transportation and travel services
In the case of insurers that offer products linked to travel or transportation (travel insurance, roadside assistance insurance with mobile app), the accessibility of these platforms and services will also be regulated.
What accessibility requirements must insurers meet
The main requirements that must be guaranteed are:
- Compatibility with assistive technologies (screen readers, braille lines).
- Textual alternatives for images and multimedia content.
- Keyboard navigation on websites and apps.
- Clear and understandable interfaces.
- Compliance with the standards WCAG 2.1 AA at least (or equivalent).
- Accessible digital documentation (tagged PDFs, semantic HTML).
Conclusion:
The countdown has begun. June 28, 2025 is not a suggestion, it is a legal finish line. For an insurer, the transformation towards total accessibility is a complex project that involves technology, marketing, legal and customer service.
Don’t leave it to the last minute. Start auditing your digital assets, training your teams, and integrating accessibility into the DNA of all your new projects today. You will be complying with the law, yes, but most importantly, you will be building a stronger, fairer and more profitable insurer for the future.
