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Regulation on information obligations in respect of insurance contracts

Original Language Title: Verordnung über Informationspflichten bei Versicherungsverträgen

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Regulation on information obligations in respect of insurance contracts (VVG-Information flight-regulation-VVG-InfoV)

Unofficial table of contents

VVG-InfoV

Date of completion: 18.12.2007

Full quote:

" VVG Information Decree of 18 December 2007 (BGBl. 3004), as last amended by Article 2 (50) of the Law of 1 April 2015 (BGBl. I p. 434).

Status: Last amended by Art. 2 sec. 50 G v. 1.4.2015 I 434

For more details, please refer to the menu under Notes
*)
The Regulation is designed to implement Council Directive 92/49/EEC of 18 June 1992 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and amending the Directives 73 /239/EEC EC No 1), Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 on the distance sales of consumer financial services and amending Council Directive 90 /619/EEC and Directives 97 /7/EC and Directives 97 /7/EC and 97 /7/EC 98 /27/EC EC No 16), and Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002 on life assurance (OJ L 327, 22.12.2002, p. EC No L 345 p. 1).

Footnote

(+ + + Text evidence from: 1.1.2008 + + +) 
(+ + + Official note from the norm-provider on EC law:
Implementation of the
EEC-GRL 49/92 (CELEX Nr: 392L0049)
EGRL 65/2002 (CELEX Nr: 302L0065)
ERL 83/2002 (CELEX Nr: 302L0083) + + +)

Unofficial table of contents

Input formula

Pursuant to Section 7 (2) and (3) of the Insurance Contracts Act of 23 November 2007 (BGBl. 2631), the Federal Ministry of Justice, in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Finance, and in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, is responsible for: Unofficial table of contents

§ 1 Information requirements for all insurance branches

(1) The insurer shall provide the policyholder with the following information in accordance with Section 7 (1) sentence 1 of the Insurance Contract Law:
1.
the identity of the insurer and any establishment on which the contract is to be concluded, including the commercial register at which the legal entity is registered and the corresponding register number;
2.
the identity of a representative of the insurer in the Member State of the European Union where the policyholder is domicated, if there is one such representative, or the identity of another person who is a business person other than that of the providers where the policyholder has to deal with this business and the property in which that person is acting in relation to the policyholder;
3.
the address-bearing address of the insurer and any other address relevant to the business relationship between the insurer, his representative or any other commercially-active person referred to in point 2 and the policyholder, legal persons, associations or groups of persons, including the name of a person entitled to represent a representative;
4.
the principal business activity of the insurer;
5.
Information on the existence of a guarantee fund or other compensation schemes not covered by Directive 94 /19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on Deposit Guarantee Schemes (OJ L 327, 30.4.1994, p. EC No 5), and Directive 97 /9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 March 1997 on investor-compensation schemes (OJ 1997 L 135, p. EC No 22); the name and address of the Guarantee Fund must be indicated;
6.
a)
the general insurance conditions applicable to the insurance relationship, including the tariff provisions;
b)
the essential characteristics of the insurance performance, in particular information on the nature, extent and maturity of the insurer's performance;
7.
the total price of the insurance, including all taxes and other price components, where the premiums are to be shown individually if the insurance relationship is to include several self-contained insurance contracts, or, if a more specific one, to be more precise, the premiums are to be paid individually the price cannot be indicated, information on the basis of its calculation which allows the policyholder to carry out a review of the price;
8.
where applicable, additional costs, including the total amount to be paid, and any other possible taxes, fees or costs which are not paid or invoied by the insurer; all of which shall also be disclosed in all cases. costs incurred by the policyholder for the use of means of distance communication, where such additional costs are charged;
9.
details of payment and compliance, in particular for the payment of premiums;
10.
the duration of the period of validity of the information provided, such as the period of validity of temporary tenders, in particular as regards the price;
11.
where appropriate, the indication that the financial service relates to financial instruments which are subject to specific risks owing to their specific characteristics or the operations to be carried out, or the price of such financial services to fluctuations in the financial market on which the insurer has no influence, and that in the past, amounts generated are not an indicator of future yields; the circumstances and risks involved are to be identified;
12.
information on the way in which the contract is concluded, in particular on the start of the insurance and insurance cover, and the duration of the period during which the applicant is to be bound by the application;
13.
the existence or non-existence of a right of withdrawal as well as the conditions, details of the exercise, in particular the name and address of the person to whom the revocation is to be declared, and the legal consequences of the withdrawal, including: information on the amount which the policyholder may have to pay in the event of revocation;
14.
information on the duration and, where applicable, the minimum duration of the contract;
15.
information on the termination of the contract, in particular on the contractual terms and conditions of termination, including any contractual penalties;
16.
the Member States of the European Union, whose right of insurers to take up relations with the policyholder before the conclusion of the insurance contract is based;
17.
the law applicable to the contract, a contractual clause relating to the law applicable to the contract or to the court of law;
18.
the languages in which the terms and conditions of the contract and the prior information referred to in this provision are communicated, and the languages in which the insurer undertakes, with the consent of the policyholder, to communicate during the term of this contract;
19.
a possible access by the policyholder to an out-of-court complaint and redress procedure and, where appropriate, the conditions for such access; it should be expressly noted that the possibility of Policyholders shall remain unaffected by the legal action;
20.
the name and address of the competent supervisory authority and the possibility of a complaint with that supervisory authority.
(2) Insofar as the notification is provided by the transmission of the provisions of the Treaty, including the General Conditions of Insurance, the information referred to in paragraph 1 (3), (13) and (15) shall be subject to a clearly defined and clearly designed form. Unofficial table of contents

§ 2 Information obligations on life assurance, occupational disability insurance and accident insurance with premium

(1) In the case of life assurance, the insurer shall provide the policyholder with the following information in addition to the information referred to in § 1 (1) (1) of the Insurance Contract Law in addition to the information referred to in § 1 (1) (1) of the Insurance Contract Law:
1.
information on the amount of the costs included in the premium, the final cost being calculated as a uniform total amount and the other calculated costs as a proportion of the annual premium, indicating the duration of each year; in the case of the other calculated costs, the administrative costs calculated shall be specified separately as a proportion of the annual premium, indicating the duration of the annual premium;
2.
information on possible other costs, in particular at costs which may be incurred once or for particular reasons;
3.
information on the calculation principles and standards applicable to the excess and surplus shareholding;
4.
the indication of the eligible repurchase values;
5.
information on the minimum insurance amount for a conversion into premium-free or premium-reduced insurance and on benefits from premium-free or premium-reduced insurance;
6.
the extent to which the services referred to in points 4 and 5 are guaranteed;
7.
in the case of fund-linked insurance, information on the funds on which the insurance is based and the nature of the assets contained therein;
8.
general information on the tax arrangements applicable to this type of insurance;
9.
in the case of life insurance contracts, which offer insurance cover for a risk in which the entry of the insurer's obligation is certain, the reduction in value development by costs in percentage points (effective costs) up to the start of the Payment phase.
(2) The information referred to in paragraph 1, No 1, 2, 4 and 5 shall be given in euro. In the case of paragraph 1 (6), the first sentence shall apply with the proviso that the extent of the guarantee shall be disclosed in euros. (3) The model calculation to be transferred by the insurer within the meaning of Section 154 (1) of the Insurance Contract Law shall be subject to the following interest rates to display:
1.
the maximum rate of interest, multiplied by 1.67,
2.
the interest rate referred to in paragraph 1, plus one percentage point,
3.
the interest rate referred to in point 1 minus one percentage point.
(4) In the case of occupational disability insurance, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply accordingly. In addition, it should be pointed out that the concept of disability used in the insurance conditions does not cover the concept of occupational incapacity or disability in the social-law sense or the concept of (5) In the case of accident insurance with premium repayment, the provisions of paragraph 1 (3) to (8) and (2) shall be applied mutagentily. Unofficial table of contents

§ 3 Information requirements for health insurance

(1) In the case of substitutive health insurance (Section 12 (1) of the Insurance Supervision Act), the insurer shall, in addition to the information referred to in Article 1 (1), have the policyholder in accordance with Section 7 (1) sentence 1 of the Insurance Contract Law. to make the following information available:
1.
information on the amount of the costs included in the premium, the final cost being calculated as a uniform total amount and the other calculated costs as a proportion of the annual premium, indicating the duration of each year; in the case of the other calculated costs, the administrative costs calculated shall be specified separately as a proportion of the annual premium, indicating the duration of the annual premium;
2.
information on possible other costs, in particular at costs which may be incurred once or for particular reasons;
3.
Information on the impact of rising disease costs on future contribution development;
4.
Notes on the possibilities for limiting contributions in old age, in particular the possibilities of changing the standard tariff or basic rate or into other tariffs according to § 204 of the Insurance Contract Law and the agreement of Performance exclusions, as well as the possibility of a reduction in premiums in accordance with § 12 (1c) of the Insurance Supervision Act;
5.
an indication that a change from the private to the statutory health insurance in advanced age is generally excluded;
6.
an indication that a change within the private health insurance in advanced age may be associated with higher contributions and, where appropriate, is limited to a change to the standard tariff or basic rate;
7.
an overview of the development of contributions during the ten-year period preceding the offer; the monthly contribution to be paid in the ten years preceding the offer would have to be paid in each case if the insurance contract is to be paid in respect of the at that time by a person of the same sex as the applicant with an entry age of 35 years; if the tariff offered has not yet been available for ten years, the date of introduction of the tariff shall be: , and it should be pointed out that the validity of the overview is due to the the short time that has elapsed since the introduction of the tariff is limited; the development of a comparable tariff, which has been in place for ten years, is supplementary.
(2) The information referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 7 shall be in euro. Unofficial table of contents

§ 4 Product information sheet

(1) If the policyholder is a consumer, the insurer shall provide him with a product information sheet containing the information required for the conclusion or fulfilment of the insurance contract of special (2) Information within the meaning of paragraph 1 shall be:
1.
information on the nature of the insurance contract offered;
2.
a description of the risk covered by the contract and the risks excluded;
3.
information on the amount of the premium in euros, on the maturity and period for which the premium is payable, and on the consequences of a sublimation or late payment;
4.
References to performance exclusions included in the contract;
5.
References to obligations to be observed at the time of the conclusion of the contract and the legal consequences of their failure to comply;
6.
References to obligations to be observed during the term of the contract and the legal consequences of their failure to comply;
7.
information on the obligations to be taken on the occurrence of the insurance case and the legal consequences of its failure to comply;
8.
indication of the start and end of the insurance cover;
9.
Notes on the possibilities of termination of the contract.
(3) In the case of life insurance with excess participation, paragraph 2 (2) shall apply with the proviso that it should be pointed out in addition to the model calculation to be transferred by the insurer in accordance with § 154 (1) of the Insurance Contracts Act. (4) the life insurance, the occupational disability insurance and the health insurance are to be applied in accordance with paragraph 2 (3), with the proviso that the costs of closure and distribution and the administrative costs (§ 2 para. 1 no. 1, § 3 para. 1 no. other costs (§ 2 para. 1 no. 2, § 3 para. 1 no. 2) are to be disclosed separately in euros each. (5) The The Product Information Sheet shall be designated as such and shall precede the other information to be provided. The information to be communicated in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 must be presented in a concesent and comprehensible form; the policyholder must be informed that the information is not exhaustive. The order referred to in paragraph 2 shall be complied with. To the extent that the information relates to the content of the contractual agreement, reference should be made to the relevant provision of the contract or to the general insurance conditions on which the contract is based. Unofficial table of contents

§ 5 Information requirements for telephone calls

(1) If the insurer is in contact with the policyholder by telephone, he must expressly disclose his/her identity and the business purpose of the contact at the beginning of each interview. (2) In the case of telephone calls, the In this case, insurers can only inform the policyholder of the information in accordance with § 1 (1) (1) to (3), (6) (b), (7) to (10) and (12) to (14) The first sentence shall apply only if the insurer has informed the policyholder that further information can be provided on request and of the nature of such information, and that the policyholder expressly refers to the communication of the Further information is not available at this time. (3) The information requirements provided for in § § 1 to 4 remain unaffected. Unofficial table of contents

§ 6 Information requirements during the term of the contract

(1) During the term of the insurance contract, the insurer shall inform the policyholder of the following information:
1.
any change in the identity or address of the insurer and of any establishment over which the contract has been concluded;
2.
changes in the information provided for in Article 1 (1) (6) (b), (7) to (9) and (14), and in accordance with Article 2 (1) (3) to (7), provided that they result from changes to legislation;
3.
where the contract provides for a surplus, an annual information on the level of bonuses and information on the extent to which such excess participation is guaranteed; this shall not apply to the Health insurance.
(2) In the case of substitutive health insurance in accordance with § 12 (1) of the Insurance Supervision Act, the insurer shall have the option of changing the rate (promotion) in accordance with § § 12 (1) of the Insurance Supervision Act (Insurance Supervisory Act). 204 of the Insurance Contracts Act. For insured persons, the 60. In the event of a life-year completion, the policyholder shall be informed of tariffs which offer similar insurance cover as the tariffs previously agreed and where a promotion would result in a reduction in premium. The notice must include such tariffs which, if the interests of the policyholder are to be considered in a continuous way, are particularly suitable for a promotion. The tariffs referred to in the second sentence shall, in any case, include those rates other than the basic rate which, in each of the preceding financial years, have the highest level of new access, as measured by the number of persons insured. In total, no more than ten tariffs may be mentioned. In each case, it is necessary to indicate which premiums would be payable for the insured persons in the case of a change in the respective tariff. In addition, the possibility of changing to the standard tariff or basic rate is to be noted. The conditions of the change in the standard tariff or basic rate, the premium to be paid in this case, as well as the possibility of a reduction in premiums in the basic rate in accordance with § 12 para. 1c of the Insurance Supervision Act are to be communicated. On request, the policyholder must be informed of the transfer value in accordance with § 12 (1) No. 5 of the Insurance Supervision Act; from 1 January 2013, the transfer value shall be notified annually. Unofficial table of contents

§ 7 Transitional provision; entry into force

(1) The insurer may, by 30 June 2008, also comply with the information requirements specified in this Regulation by informing it in accordance with the provisions of the law applicable until 31 December 2007. (2) § 2 (1) (1) and (2) and (2) and (2), § 3 Para. 1 and 2 and paragraph 2 as well as § 4 shall enter into force on 1 July 2008. In addition, this Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 2008.