Verbraucherschutz im Bereich der Versicherung — das schwedische Konsumentenversicherungsgesetz

Zusammenfassung

Das neue schwedische Konsumentenversicherungsgesetz soll Versicherungsbedingungen bewirken, die den Bedürfnissen der Verbraucher besser entsprechen. Zeitliche Kontinuität des Versicherungsschutzes auch bei Erneuerung der Versicherung und vor der Prämienzahlung gehören zu den Interessen, die dabei im Vordergrund stehen. Auch bei Obliegenheitsverletzungen soll der Versicherungsschutz beibehalten werden, soweit dies mit den Interessen der Versicherungswirtschaft in Einklang zu bringen ist.

Abstract

This article gives a survey of a new Swedish statute on insurance contracts with consumers. The scope of the Act is limited to the branches that are most important to consumers, such as household or homeowner insurance and motor insurance. It leaves aside life insurance and other insurance of persons, for which legislation is to follow later.

The object of the Act is described as being to facilitate the conducting of insurance business in a suitable manner, paying regard to the needs of consumers as insured. The consumers are to have legal rights against the insurers, so as not to depend largely on the insurers' good will. Competition between insurers should also be encouraged.

The Act contains a number of — technically rather complicated — rules that aim at safeguarding the continuity of the insurance protection. An underlying assumption is that a gap in the validity of an insurance, because of failure to renew the insurance contract, can be fatal to a person insured if damage occurs during that period. There are, therefore, rules regarding automatic renewal. The interest of the insured in being able to change the insurance, or move to another insurer, is protected principally by a rule that the maximum period of contract is normally one year.

The wish to safeguard the unbroken continuity of an insurance contract is also reflected in the rules relating to payment of premiums. The insured is to have adequate time for payment after receiving notice. He shall not lose the insurance protection even temporarily — which would leave him without indemnity if damage occurred during that time — unless he has received two successive notices of payment. The second notice is to be a cancellation of the insurance contract, since the insurer shall not be entitled to a premium for a period during which he has not been at risk.

The rules regarding failure of the insured to comply with duties regarding disclosure, warranties, etc., are based on the idea that total loss of the right to the insurance indemnity may be detrimental for the types of insurance that the statute concerns. An insured who has acted without fault shall always be entitled to full insurance indemnity, and even if he has been at fault, the consequence should as far as possible be only a reduction of the insurance indemnity, not total loss of it. However, the need for a sanction against fault varies considerably for different branches of insurance, and the rules therefore give considerable leeway for adapting the insurance conditions to the various situations.

It is mentioned that the statute has already given rise to considerable discussion in Sweden. On the one hand, the insurers maintain that the statute will lead to increased premiums, mainly because of the amount of protection that is given to those who are careless. On the other hand, the proponents of the statute argue that in fact the rules of the statute mostly agree with the present practice of the insurers and should therefore not give rise to any appreciable increases of premiums.