Sum insured
As insurance amount in is insurance law , the amount designated by an insurance policy at most covered is.
General
The insurance coverage must rule on amount be limited so that the insured event the policyholder and the insurer , the payment can calculate. The sum insured is part of the insurance contract . The sum insured is not an objectively fixed amount, but is freely agreed - usually in accordance with the policyholder's request. Since the insurance premium is based on the amount insured, there is an adjustment to actual needs , especially in the sum insurance .
Legal issues
The sum insured is a legal term of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG), which, however, does not provide for a legal definition . A distinction must be made between the function of the sum insured in life and non-life insurance.
Damage insurance
In the area of non-life insurance , we speak of the sum insured. Damages are only settled by the insurer up to this amount. Therefore, the sum insured here should correspond to the insured value. If the sum insured is insufficient, there is underinsurance ; if it is too high, it is irrational overinsurance (§ § 74 VVG, § 75 VVG). Over- and underinsurance require a comparison with the insured value. In theory, it is also possible to take out damage insurance without a sum insured, but it rarely occurs ( e.g. comprehensive insurance ).
Life insurance
In the case of life insurance, the sum insured refers to the amount that the insurer has undertaken to provide in the event of an insured event when the contract is concluded. In addition to the sum insured, the actual insurance benefit also includes the profit sharing . If the premium is not paid, there is a premium-free sum insured . The existing surrender value is converted into a sum insured like a one-off payment, which is always less than the originally agreed sum insured.
Power limitation
While in the case of sum insurance only the sum insured has a benefit-limiting effect, in non-life insurance the amount of damage is added as a second benefit-limiting factor. If the damage is lower than the sum insured, only the damage will be compensated.
literature
- Literature on the sum insured in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Winfried Schnepp / Horst Baumann / Roland Michael Beckmann / Katharina Johannsen (eds.), Large Commentary on the Insurance Contract Act , Volume 3: Sections 74 to 99 VVG , 2010, p. 7
- ↑ Walter Große / Heinz Leo Müller-Lutz / Reimer Schmidt (eds.), Gabler Versicherungsenzyklopädie , Volume 3: Rechtslehre des Versicherungswesens , 1991, p. 150
- ↑ Walter Große / Heinz Leo Müller-Lutz / Reimer Schmidt (eds.), Gabler Versicherungsenzyklopädie , Volume 3: Rechtslehre des Versicherungswesens , 1991, p. 150
- ↑ Maximilian Koch / Stephan Umann / Martin Weigert (eds.), Lexikon der Lebensversicherung , 2002, p. 96
- ↑ Walter Große / Heinz Leo Müller-Lutz / Reimer Schmidt (eds.), Gabler Versicherungsenzyklopädie , Volume 3: Rechtslehre des Versicherungswesens , 1991, p. 151
