Читать книгу Dimensiones y desafíos del seguro de responsabilidad civil - Abel B. Veiga Copo - Страница 26

An expert group on insurance law appointed by the European Commission some years ago stated in its final report that liability insurance accounts for not more than eleven per cent of the non-life insurance premiums collected in European markets and that it is therefore not of particular significance from an economic point of view1. The group nevertheless concluded that liability coverage plays an important role in the operation of the internal market since the spread of risk facilitates exchanges between the economic players involved. In particular, the special risks connected with cross-border transactions which are not well-known and may dissuade traders from international business, can thus be reduced for the individual market participant.

From a legal perspective, liability insurance is of great complexity. It always involves at least three persons: the insurer, the policyholder and the third party seeking compensation for losses that it suffered as a consequence of the policyholder’s action. Liability insurance functions under the impact of both insurance contract law and the law of civil liability. In cross-border relations, the complexity is further increased by issues of private international law concerning jurisdiction and the law applicable to the insurance contract, to the liability at issue and, in the circumstances of the case, also to direct claims brought by the third party against the liability insurer. All this creates a complex and sometimes non-transparent legal environment.

The following remarks are intended to present a kind of short restatement of the Union’s law in this area (infra, 2.), before pointing to a grave deficit that has become visible in the context of the breast implants litigation (infra, 3.); this will be conducive to some final considerations about future legislation of the Union on matters of compulsory liability insurance (infra, 4.).