On 26 August, the European Commission opened formal proceedings to investigate whether certain provisions accompanying claim-sharing and joint reinsurance agreements in the marine insurance sector might infringe European Union anti-trust rules. In question are the modalities of the agreements within the Protection & Indemnity Clubs (P&I Clubs), mutual non-profit making associations that provide protection and indemnity insurance, which involves the sharing of insurance claims and joint reinsurance. The EU executive wishes to examine whether certain provisions of the agreements, which are not automatically covered by the new anti-trust block exemption for the insurance sector that came into force in April, may lessen competition between P&I Clubs as well as restrict the access of commercial insurers and/or other mutual P&I insurers to the relevant markets.