Insurance Contracts CP - Law Reform Commission

7.26 One may also add that considerations of good faith may also be breached by negligent or
unsatisfactory business practices that attend the negotiation and recording of insurance contracts and
policy documents.
(7) A General Duty to Provide Pre-Contractual Information in PEICL
7.27 The European Union acquis imposes significant information requirements on the suppliers of
goods and services, particularly when the good or the service is provided via distance marketing or away
from business premises. These requirements only apply to consumers however, and, apart from the
information and cancellation rights in respect of life assurance, any insurance contract which is not
concluded within the distance contracts regulations, are not attended by information disclosure rules or a
legal duty to provide copies of completed documentation or any policy documents, save in respect of
some applicable law provisions and dispute resolution mechanisms under Article 31 of Directive
1992/49/EEC. 31
7.28 In the interests of greater clarity and transparency, the Commission takes the view that there
should be a general duty to provide proposers with pre-contractual information, and, in the event that a
contract is concluded, copies of any completed documentation and policy documents. This general duty
should arise in relation to all consumer and business insurance contracts that are the subject matter of
this Consultation Paper. A number of exceptions to this general duty will be necessary for when such
requirements are inappropriate or would have a disproportionate impact upon the insurer or insurance
sector concerned. The general duty and related matters, as well as the exceptions hereto, are based
upon the recommendations contained in the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law, to which the
Commission will now turn.
7.29 The authors of the PEICL distinguish between information duties that arise before the contract
is concluded (Article 2:201) and a separate duty to issue an insurance policy after the insurance contract
has been concluded (Article 2:501).
7.30 Article 2:201 is also tailored to aspects of the specific insurance contract such as the sum
insured and the amount of the premium. While the Article begins by referring to a copy of the proposed
contract terms as well as a document containing the following information, if relevant, the proposed
contract terms requirement is to be satisfied if the document is in writing, is readable by both sides.
Article 2:201 reads:
(i) The insurer shall provide the applicant with a copy of the proposed contract terms as
well as a document which includes the following information if relevant:
(a) the name and address of the contracting parties;
(b) the name and address of the insured and of the beneficiary;
(c) the name and address of the insurance agent;
(d) the subject matter of the insurance and the risks covered;
(e) the sum insured and any deductibles;
(f) the amount of the premium or the method of calculating it;
(g) when the premium falls due as well as the place and mode of payment;
(h) the contract period and the liability period;
(i) the right to revoke the application or avoid the contract in accordance with Article
2:303;
(j) the law applicable to the contract or, if a choice of law is permitted, the law proposed
by the insurer;
(k) the existence of an out-of-court complaint and redress mechanism for the applicant
and the methods for having access to it;
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See the Consolidation of the Directives (21.03.2008) on EUR-LEX.
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