Insurance Contract Law Between Business Law and Consumer Protection

Abstract

In the field of insurance, consumer transactions have taken on the same importance as commercial ones. While insurance law had been viewed generally as a part of commercial or general private law, given the significance of private customer business, it is developing into a separate discipline. For most countries, actions concerning insurance matters are brought before general courts of law. In some cases, insurance matters are heard by commercial courts, especially for marine insurance. It is perhaps beneficial that commercial courts hear insurance matters involving both individuals and business matters because the judges hold an expertise relevant to these situations. Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms figure heavily in this area in order to alleviate the burden on the courts, particularly in small claims matters. In general, insurance contract law is the subject of special legislation. No distinction is made, typically, between commercial and consumer contracts. In some cases, such as the UK, separate legislation has been proposed. When a question is not covered by insurance law, many states have provided for consumer protection law which becomes applicable. As a result, consumer protection law has significantly influenced contents of insurance contracts legislation.

III.A.4, Le droit des contrats d’assurance entre le droit des affaires et la protection des consommateurs.