Insurance law

The insurance law is a legal matter, which regulates relations between individuals and insurance companies as of dependent part of the trade and civil law and at the same time determines the range of insurance regulation as a public- law relationship. Social insurance is - unless there is freedom of insurance designed public law.

The insurance law is understood as regulating the relations of the risk community to protect from damage.

Germany

The private law Insurance law is largely governed by the Insurance Contracts Act. In the civil law is to be found as a type- determining element nor the contract for the benefit of third parties ( § 328 BGB), which, however, could find only a few insurance policies application (eg life insurance). Typically, the insured is obliged by the insurance contract, to pay contributions as premiums to the insurance company, while these for the case of the damage of the regulation takes over ( PAYG). Typical is also the limited acquisition of damages by the insurer. In the interest of the solidarity of the insurer moral hazards must exclude, ie seek to avoid the damage by the insured. Cases of damage caused by collusion or improper damage induction, usually lead to the exclusion of liability. Z.T. these are under German law as insurance fraud or insurance fraud ( § 263 and § 265 of the Criminal Code ) punishable.

As a general business conditions, the so-called General Insurance Conditions (AVB ) are included in the contracts. These are adapted to the particular types of insurance and in most cases contain risk exclusions and special duties for the insured. With few exceptions, the AVB subject to content control by the AGB- law ( § § 305 ff BGB).

Insurance law areas

Typical areas of insurance law are:

• The transportation and shipping insurance law
• The insurance law (in particular the right of the vehicle, building, household items, luggage, fire, burglary and construction insurance ) in which vehicle insurance is the " insurance "
• The right of private personal insurance ( especially the right to life, health, travel cancellation, accident and disability insurance )
• The liability insurance law (especially the law of insurance, personal liability, corporate liability, liability insurance for the liberal professions, environmental and product liability, construction, insurance)
• Legal expenses insurance
• Fidelity and credit insurance

Companies and regulatory

Insurance companies subject in Germany, the insurance supervision by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ( BaFin). Before an insurance company based in Germany receives the business, it must go through an approval process. Also exists for companies based in Germany a so-called legal form of coercion, ie they may be based on reciprocity ( mutual insurance ) as joint stock companies, European Company (SE ) or the Association. The larger insurers are typically molded as a corporation or Se ( § 7 para 1 VAG ). The ( original ) legal form of a mutual insurance company according to § § 15 et seq VAG is the exception rather than the rule. The international insurance contract law is found in the Rome I Regulation ( Regulation ( EC) 593/2008 ), which became applicable on 17 December 2009.

Supervision of the insurance company leads the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Supervision Act (§ § 81 et seq VAG ). Europe will be established on the supervision of insurance companies in the future an agency.