Federal Council launches consultation on revision of the Insurance Contract Act
Bern, 22.01.2009 - The Federal Council has launched consultation proceedings on the revision of the Insurance Contract Act. The revision is intended to bring the 100-year old law up to date and better safeguard the interests of the consumer. The consul-tation period runs until 30 April 2009.
The Federal Act of 2 April 1908 on Insurance Contracts (Insurance Contract Act) is now a hundred years old and must be adapted. A partial revision which came into effect on 1 January 2006 satisfied urgent consumer protection concerns. The principal reasons for the total revision of the Insurance Contract Act are the need to adapt insurance contract law to changing circumstances and to ensure appropriate and practicable policyholder protection. The draft law ensures a balance between the obligations of the policyholder and those of the insurer.
The draft law contains the following main changes:
- Correction of shortcomings in information, for example by extending information obligations in the pre-contractual and contractual process
- Regulation of pre-contractual conditions
- Regulation of contractual scope, in particular through the introduction of a right to withdraw and the possibility to conclude retroactive insurance contracts
- Regulation of provisions on payment default - (esp. premium payments) and of circumstances under which obligations are time barred
- Regulation of issues arising in connection with the termination of a contract and the introduction of termination rights and of provisions on liability after contract expiration and liability for pending insurance cases
- Regulation of the relationship to insurance intermediaries
The total revision of the Insurance Contract Act is intended to strengthen the appeal of the Swiss financial centre and at the same time improve consumer protection.
Address for enquiries
Bruno Dorner, Legal Division, Federal Finance Administration, tel. 031 322 61 90
Publisher
Federal Department of Finance
https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/en/home.html
