This regulation already existed within some insurance branches. For example, liability insurers for motor vehicles were already bound by these strict rules, but fire insurance (simple risks) and life insurance were also required to respect the stipulated deadlines.
By analogy with these insurance products, this approach was extended to the other insurance branches. This creates a uniform law for all existing insurance products.
The legislator chose to introduce, depending on the branch of insurance, the same rules for all insurance products within one of these three branches:
Liability insurance (e.g., family insurance or public liability for business)
- Obligation
The insurer must, as is already the case for motor vehicle liability, make an offer for compensation within 3 months. Once the injured party has agreed, the compensation must actually be paid within 30 days.
- Sanction
Interest is automatically owed at the legal interest rate if, after additional and registered notice with a penalty of €300 per day, the insurer fails to respond within 11 days.
- Dispute of coverage, liability and/or damages by the insurer
Must be communicated within 3 months. If not, a fixed compensation of €300 applies.
Property insurance
- Obligation
As with fire insurance (home insurance), a response to the claim for compensation must be made within 3 months.
- Sanction
The sanctions are identical to those for liability insurance.
Other insurance (health and accident insurance)
- Obligation
The insurer must respond within 3 months. If agreement on compensation is reached, payment must be made within 30 days.
- Sanction
A fixed penalty of €300 in the absence of a more detailed response. If payment is not made within 30 days, interest is due at double the legal interest rate.
As you can see, this new legislation puts an end to the excessively long processing times of claims files in many cases. The new rules apply to all claims for compensation submitted from 1 October 2024 onwards.
