Liability insurance

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A liability insurance is a life insurance in which the insurer is obliged to inform the policyholder harmless from claims that may be asserted by a third party due to the responsibility of the policyholder for entering during the insurance period fact and fend off unsubstantiated claims ( § 100 , § 101 VVG ).

Typical contractual obligations of the insurer

First of all, the insurance company checks in its legal department whether there is an insured event. This is the case if the policyholder has caused damage to a third party through negligence ( Section 103 VVG). If the insurance company considers the third party's claim to be unfounded, it will refuse to make payments to the injured party. If the insured is then sued by the injured party, the insurance company will cover all legal, expert and court costs for the insured. This so-called passive legal protection insurance ( § 101 VVG) means, on the one hand, that the insurance company only defends itself in court if it is sued by the opponent. In the event of disputes with the injured party, the person who caused the damage does not need his own lawyer or separate legal protection insurance , as a passive legal protection function is already part of the contract.

The insurer must release the policyholder from legally binding claims by third parties , d. H. the insurer compensates the third party for personal injury, property damage and financial loss to the extent of the insurance contract, with discharging effect for the policyholder . If the third party has already been satisfied by the policyholder with binding effect on the insurer, the insurer must pay the compensation to the policyholder ( Section 106 VVG).

Legal and contractual framework

The legal framework for liability insurance in Germany can be found in Sections 100 to 124 of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG).

Liability insurance can be taken out voluntarily (so-called private liability insurance ), for certain insurance cases there is an obligation through legal regulation ( compulsory insurance , § 113 VVG).

Claims for damages can be justified if the policyholder

and thereby caused damage to a third party. In the event of a breach of contractual obligations, it should be noted that many of the resulting damage will not be covered by the liability insurance.

Most liability insurances are voluntary. Liability insurance is only compulsory in areas that the legislator considers to be particularly risky. Because of the operational risk emanating from a motor vehicle, vehicle owners, for example, must take out motor vehicle liability insurance . Because of the danger posed by the use of firearms, hunters require hunting liability insurance . There is no obligation to take out liability insurance. B. for pet owners (with a few exceptions).

The contractual framework is designed by general terms and conditions , namely the General Insurance Conditions for Liability Insurance (AHB), model conditions of the General Association of the German Insurance Industry and template for most of the conditions used, as well as risk descriptions and special conditions that the AHB supplement and adapt to the individual types of liability insurance . Professional liability insurance and financial loss liability insurance sometimes have different general terms and conditions, as do the standardized general terms and conditions for motor vehicle liability insurance.

Types of liability insurance

Liability insurance can be divided according to different criteria, e.g. B. according to whether you insure private or professional risks, or according to whether it is a voluntary liability insurance or a compulsory liability insurance.

Typical liability insurance for private risks

  • Private liability insurance (PHV) to cover liability risks as a private person from situations in everyday life, in particular in accordance with § 823 BGB;
  • Motor vehicle liability insurance , which covers the liability for damage caused by the use of the motor vehicle, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as in most other countries, designed as compulsory insurance, without which motor vehicles are not permitted for road traffic (legal basis in Germany: Compulsory insurance law )
  • Animal owner liability insurance (THV) to cover the special liability risks as a keeper of animals , in particular according to § 833 BGB;
  • House and landowner liability insurance (HUG), insurance against liability damage caused by or in the area of ​​houses and land
  • Water damage liability insurance to cover the consequences of water damage caused by oil tanks and other systems with substances hazardous to water
  • Water sports liability insurance Insurance against damage caused by water sports, in particular also marine liability insurance, which is usually a compulsory insurance similar to motor vehicle liability insurance
  • Hunting liability insurance to protect against liability damage caused by hunting
  • Builders' liability insurance Insurance against liability damage in connection with construction projects

Typical business and professional liability insurance

Typical compulsory liability insurance

Exclusions

Exclusions determine in which cases there is no insurance cover. You can find them in the AHB, but z. B. also in the special conditions and risk descriptions (BBR) of the respective insurance contract supplementing the AHB. Their function is to limit insurance coverage, e.g. B. because the insurer generally does not want to offer insurance cover for a certain behavior (example: the policyholder caused the damage deliberately) or because he only wants to offer insurance cover for the excluded risk within the framework of special liability insurance.

Typical exclusions from the general liability conditions

  • Damage caused intentionally (in the case of gross negligence , the insurance cover remains in place; compare § 103 (special regulation for liability insurance) in contrast to § 81 (general regulation for damage insurance) VVG)
  • Claims between family members, if they live in the same household, or legal representatives of the insured person
  • Claims between persons who have insurance coverage from the same insurance contract (according to this, damage caused by an insured person is not insured with a co-insured person, e.g. property damage and financial damage to the car owner as a passenger in an accident caused by another driver of his own car)
  • Damages to other things that actually owns the policyholder due as from rent , loan , lease , lease , unauthorized action or he contractual agreement secures (in this case should be noted that rental properties be exceptional rented property are at most providers, at least until Co-insured within the contractually agreed limits within the sum insured, sometimes even up to the entire sum insured. This, in turn, often excludes damage to the object glazing and electrical installation, which should be insured separately.)
  • Damage to third-party property that the policyholder processes
  • Environmental, radiation and asbestos damage
  • In the case of property damage liability insurance, this also includes damage from commercial and speculative business activities.

As an example, reference is made to the model terms and conditions of the General Association of the Insurance Industry (GDV), which can be accessed via the GDV website, there point 7 AHB.

In the meantime, however, many insurance companies also offer more extensive contracts that cover some of the otherwise excluded damage against higher premiums. In addition, with similar premiums, there are sometimes considerable differences between the scope of services of different providers. Some providers now also offer specialized tariffs and insurance conditions for otherwise excluded industry-specific occupational risks.

Insurance policies in the test

The magazine Finanztest of the Stiftung Warentest has defined a so-called "basic protection" that a good private liability policy should have. In a study of the type of insurance in October 2017, Stiftung Warentest gave 90 out of 218 private liability insurances the top rating. 89 insurances were rated as “good” and 12 tariffs as “sufficient” or “poor”. According to the test, new policies are also often significantly better than old ones. Therefore, Stiftung Warentest recommends a comparison and, if necessary, a change of tariff.

Duration of the insurance relationship

Liability insurance is usually taken out for one or more years and is automatically extended if it is not terminated in due time before the contract expires. For most companies, the notice period is 3 months before the expiration date. In general, since the VVG reform in 2008, the duration of the contract may not exceed three years. Irrespective of the agreed term of the contract can from both sides for a rejected or regulated loss event canceled are. If the cancellation is made by the insurer - for example due to several very expensive claims within one year - the notice period is usually four weeks. If there have been more claims in the past, it may take longer to find a new insurer. Because, unlike motor vehicle liability insurance, private liability insurance is not obliged to take on a new insured. If the premium is increased, the policyholder also has an extraordinary right of termination. The period here is one month from the receipt of the damage rejection, full claims settlement or premium increase.

In principle, the insurance covers damage that occurred during the insurance period. The point in time at which the damage was caused is not important, but rather when the occurrence of the damage becomes apparent ("subsequent event theory" of the BGH). For example, if a seat is installed (action) before the insurance period, but the damage occurred later within the insurance period (damaging event), the damage is covered by the liability insurance. This regulation differs significantly from what is customary in the Anglo-Saxon legal area. Damage there is generally only covered by liability insurance if the claim was made within the insurance period ("claims made").

Cost-benefit analysis

Private liability insurance protects the policyholder from damage that he culpably causes in the course of his private life. If there is no insurance cover, the person who caused the damage must take responsibility for damage without an upper limit on his liability with all of his or her future assets.

The public liability insurance often provides for a deductible in order to keep the insurance premium in an economically sensible framework and to allow the policyholder to participate in the economic risk.

Although the policyholder initially only takes out liability insurance in his own interest in order to protect himself in the event of claims, liability insurance also has the social purpose of ensuring that the injured party is often at fault with adequate compensation for his / her justified claims. Therefore, the claim for compensation does not fall economically into the assets of the policyholder, which is why he cannot dispose of it. The injured party can therefore also demand separate satisfaction in the event of the insolvency of the policyholder.

In the case of motor vehicle liability, a direct claim of the injured party against the insurer is justified. 67% of German citizens have private liability insurance. Anyone who is harmed by an uninsured person (e.g. a penniless person) often gets nothing. In order to absorb this risk, the insurers offer - for an additional fee - under special conditions, quasi insurance cover against missing liability insurance. In such a case, the insurers grant their customers, on the basis of a legally enforceable title, the assumption of the damage costs → (loss / loss cover ) and thus make their insured persons as if the injuring party were also insured.

In the case of particularly dangerous activities, for social reasons, a statutory or professional obligation to take out liability insurance - in deviation from the principle of freedom of contract - is provided to protect the injured party :

  • High-risk area: motor vehicle liability insurance , nuclear liability insurance for handling radioactive substances
  • Hunting liability insurance
  • Legal and economic advice: lawyers, tax consultants, auditors and notaries
  • Doctors and some other health professionals
  • other traders: security companies, showmen, brokers and insurance brokers

In cases of compulsory insurance, the insurer is also regularly obliged to pay the injured party if the policyholder is exempt from payment, for example due to default in premiums, termination or breach of obligations. However, this does not relieve the policyholder, he rather has to reimburse the insurer for the service rendered.

Austria

In Austria, Sections 149 to 158i of the Insurance Contract Act (VersVG) regulate the rights and obligations of policyholders and insurers. In the case of liability insurance, the insurer is obliged to reimburse the policyholder for the benefit that he has to provide to a third party due to his responsibility for a fact occurring during the insurance period, including the judicial and extrajudicial costs incurred through the defense against the third party asserted claim arise. Sections 158b ff. Regulate compulsory insurance, for example for certain professional groups such as doctors, lawyers, civil technicians or physiotherapists.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, private liability insurance is regulated in Art. 48 ff, 59 of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG).

Web links

Wikibooks: Liability Insurance Basics  - Learning and Teaching Materials
Wiktionary: Liability insurance  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The passive legal protection of the liability insurance Haftpflichtwissen.de, accessed on September 6, 2019
  2. ↑ General Insurance Conditions for Liability Insurance (AHB) as of January 1, 2019
  3. ^ Patent liability insurance deutsche versicherungsbörse.de, accessed on October 12, 2019
  4. ↑ Only good with the financial test basic protection. In: test.de , November 18, 2014, accessed on November 19, 2014
  5. ↑ Liability insurance: contracts now even better - a change is often worthwhile . test.de. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  6. ↑ What is liability insurance? . cosmosdirekt.de. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ BGH judgment of December 4th, 1980 - NJW 1981,870
  8. ↑ Federal Act of December 2, 1958 on Insurance Contracts (Insurance Contract Act - VersVG) RIS , accessed on September 6, 2019
  9. ↑ Safe through life with liability insurance Versicherungen.at, accessed on September 6, 2019
  10. ↑ Federal Act on Insurance Contracts (Insurance Contract Act, VVG) Portal of the Swiss Federal Government, accessed on September 6, 2019