24.7.1999 Official Journal of the European Communities L 192/9 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1617/1999 of 23 July 1999 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 - as regards minimum standards for the treatment of insurance in the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices and modifying Commission Regulation (EC) No 2214/96 (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 249495 of 23 October 1995 concerning harmonised indices of consumer price ('), and in particular Article 4 and Article 5(3) thereof, After consulting the European Central Bank (3), (1) Whereas, by virtue of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95, each Member State is required to produce a Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) starting with the index for January 1997; (2)  Whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 1749/96 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1688/98 (*), sets down an initial coverage for HICPs that is restricted to those goods and services covered by all or most national Consumer Price Indices (CPIs); whereas Council Regula- tion (EC) No 1687/98 (°), amending Regulation (EC) No 1749/96, defines the coverage of the HICP as those goods and services which are included in household final monetary consumption expenditure; whereas insur- ances are part of the coverage of the HICP; (3)  Whereas there is considerable scope for procedural differences in the treatment of insurance in the HICP; whereas a harmonised methodology for insurance is necessary to ensure that the resulting HICPs meet the comparability requirement of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95; whereas, in practice, it is not possible to observe the service charge for a particular insurance policy on a monthly basis; (4)  Whereas the proposed treatment of insurance is consis- tent with the definitions laid down in the European System of Accounts (ESA) 1995 (°); (5)  Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Statistical Programme Committee (SPC), () O] L 257, 27.10.1995, p. 1. (*) Opinion delivered on 23 June 1999 (not yet published in the Offi- cial Journal). () O] L 229, 10.9.1996, p. 3. () O] L 214, 31.7.1998, p. 23. () O] L 214, 31.7.1998, p. 12. (®) Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96, O] L 310, 30.11.1996. As defined in Regulation (EC) No 1687/98. 3 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Aim The aim of this Regulation is to set minimum standards for the treatment of insurance (') in the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICPs) to ensure that they are reliable, rele- vant and meet the comparability requirements as laid down in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95. Article 2 Definitions For the purpose of this Regulation the terms given below are defined as follows: 1. ‘gross insurance premiums’ the amount paid by the policy- holder for a specific insurance policy to obtain insurance cover; 2. ‘claims” the amount which the insurance company pays to the policyholder and other parties in settlement of injuries or damage suffered by persons or goods; 3. ‘premium supplements”: the income earned by insurance enterprises by investing their insurance technical provisions, which comprise prepayments for insurance premiums, provisions for outstanding claims, and provisions against outstanding risks; 4. ‘actuarial provisions” allocations by the insurance company to technical provisions against outstanding risks; 5. ‘service charge”: gross insurance premiums plus premium supplements minus claims minus changes in the actuarial provisions. Article 3 Treatment of insurance weights 1. The weights for insurance shall be an estimate of the aggregate expenditure by households on service charges for insurance covered by the HICP expressed as a proportion of the total expenditure on all goods and services covered. The weights shall reflect the average aggregate expenditure during three years. () As defined in Regulation (EC) No 1687/98.