In this volume, the Project Group "Restatement of European Insurance Contract Law" presents its Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL). These principles were submitted to the European Commission as a Draft Common Frame of Reference of European Insurance Contract Law (DCFR Insurance). The volume comprises the PEICL/DCFR Insurance, as well as translations into Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish. It sets out the approach used by the Project Group, how the PEICL/DCFR Insurance relates to the overall DCFR, the participation of the Project Group in the CoPECL (Common Principles of European Contract Law) Network, as well as the general structure and characteristics of the PEICL/DCFR Insurance. The Project Group has also drafted the PEICL/DCFR Insurance as a model for an Optional Instrument of European Insurance Contract Law.

This Volume of the AIDA Europe Research Series on Insurance Law and Regulation focuses on transparency as the guiding principle of modern insurance law. It consists of chapters written by leaders in the respective field, who address transparency in a range of civil and common law jurisdictions, along with overview chapters. Each chapter reviews the transparency principles applicable in the jurisdiction discussed. Whether expressly or impliedly, all jurisdictions recognize a duty on the part of the insured to make a fair presentation of the risk when submitting a proposal for cover to the insurers, although there is little consensus on the scope of that duty. Disputed matters in this regard include: whether it is satisfied by honest answers to express questions, or whether there is a spontaneous duty of disclosure; whether facts relating to the insured’s character, as opposed to the nature of the risk itself, are to be presented to the insurers; the role of insurance intermediaries in the placement process; and the remedy for breach of duty. Transparency is, however, a much wider concept. Potential policyholders are in principle entitled to be made aware of the key terms of coverage and to be warned of hidden traps (such as conditions precedent, average clauses and excess provisions), but there are a range of different approaches. Some jurisdictions have adopted a “soft law” approach, using codes of practice for pre-contract disclosure, while other jurisdictions employ the rather nebulous duty of (utmost) good faith. Leaving aside placement, transparency is also demanded after the policy has been incepted. The insured is required to be transparent during the claims process. There is less consistency in national legislation regarding the implementation of transparency by insurers in the context of handling claims.

This book brings together the papers presented at the Society of European Contract Law's 13th annual conference. It discusses the effect of constitutional principles, common principles to the laws of the EU Member States, and whether common principles can be transformed into rules. The Society of European Contract Law (SECOLA) promotes the development and understanding of European contract law, including its economic, sociological, and intellectual historic relation in theory and in practice. Further, SECOLA provides an international platform for the discussion of developing and proposed contract law in Europe. In this spirit, the series European Contract Law and Theory combines dogmatic thinking in comparative and EU law with strong social theory considerations, and makes publicly available the results of the discussions of leading scholars and practitioner. (Series: European Contract Law and Theory - Vol. 1) [Subject: European Law, Contract Law]

In this volume, the Study Group and the Acquis Group present the first academic Draft of a Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). The Draft is based in part on a revised version of the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and contains Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law in an interim outline edition. It covers the books on contracts and other juridical acts, obligations and corresponding rights, certain specific contracts, and non-contractual obligations. One purpose of the text is to provide material for a possible "political" Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which was called for by the European Commission's Action Plan on a More Coherent European Contract Law of January 2003.

This text provides a comprehensive guide to the principles of European contract law. They have been drawn up by an independent body of experts from each Member State of the EU, under a project supported by the European Commission and many other organizations. The principles are stated in the form of articles, with a detailed commentary explaining the purpose and operation of each article and its relation to the remainder. Each article also has extensive comparative notes surveying the national laws and other international provisions on the topic.

In this volume the Project Group "Restatement of European Insurance Contract Law" presents its Principles of European Insurance Contract Law ("PEICL"). These principles were submitted to the European Commission as a Draft Common Frame of Reference of European Insurance Contract Law ("DCFR Insurance"). The volume comprises the PEICL/DCFR Insurance as well as translations into Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish and Swedish. A short introduction sets out the approach used by the Project Group, how the PEICL/DCFR Insurance relate to the overall Draft Common Frame of Reference, the participation of the Project Group in the CoPECL (Common Principles of European Contract Law) Network, as well as the general structure and characteristics of the PEICL/DCFR Insurance. The Project Group has also drafted the PEICL/DCFR Insurance as a model for an Optional Instrument of European Insurance Contract Law.

Over the past two decades, there have been a number of important developments in the areas of liability, property, and life and health insurance that have significantly changed insurance law. Accordingly, the Fourth Edition of Principles of Insurance Law has been substantially rewritten, reformatted, and refocused in order to offer the insurance law student and practitioner a broad perspective of both traditional insurance law concepts and cutting-edge legal issues affecting contemporary insurance law theory and practice. This edition not only expands the scope of topical coverage, but also segments the law of insurance in a manner more amenable to study, as well as facilitating the recombination and reordering of the chapters as desired by individual instructors. The Fourth Edition of Principles of Insurance Law includes new and expanded treatment of important insurance law developments, including: The critical role of insurance binders as temporary forms of insurance as illustrated in the World Trade Center property insurance disputes resulting from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; The continuing debate between "legal formalists" and "legal functionalists" for "the heart and soul" of insurance contract law; What constitutes a policyholder's "reasonable expectation" regarding coverage; The current property and liability insurance "crisis"; Risk management and self-insurance issues; Emerging, and frequently conflicting, case law concerning the intersection of insurance law and federal anti-discrimination regulation; Ongoing interpretive battles over the preemptive scope of ERISA; The United States Supreme Court ruling that a California statute attempting to leverage European insurers into honoring commitments to Holocaust era policies is preempted by the Executive's power over foreign affairs; The State Farm v. Campbell decision, which struck down a $145 million punitive damages award in an insurance bad faith claim as well as setting more restrictive parameters for the recovery of punitive damages; New issues over the dividing line between "tangible" property typically covered under a property insurance policy and "intangible" property, which is typically excluded -- an issue of increasing importance in the digital and cyber age; Refinement of liability insurance law regarding trigger of coverage, duty to defend, reimbursement of defense costs, and apportionment of insurer and policyholder responsibility for liability payments; The difficult-to-harmonize decisions concerning when a loss arises out of the "use" of an automobile; Insurer bad faith and the availability, if any, of actions against a policyholder for "reverse bad faith"; and The degree to which excess insurance and reinsurance may be subject to modified approaches to insurance policy construction. The Teacher's Manual highlights the differences between the Third Edition and the Fourth Edition. In addition, it includes case-brief summaries of the major cases excerpted in the book; authors' analyses of the notes, questions, and problems that follow the principal cases; and offers alternative syllabuses for planning purposes. This book also is available in a three-hole punched, alternative loose-leaf version printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with wider margins and with the same pagination as the hardbound book.