Читать книгу Dimensiones y desafíos del seguro de responsabilidad civil - Abel B. Veiga Copo - Страница 35

Prior to addressing the future legislative options of the Union the conditions explaining the need for, and success of, harmonisation in motor liability insurance should be recalled. Insurance duties under EU law do not fall from heaven as the result of some opaque political compromise; they usually respond to some clear-cut conditions. The first is the control of the risk by persons whose financial ability to compensate losses is often reduced to minor sums; second, where these risks materialise, they are capable of generating high losses; third, the losses are sustained by persons who are themselves frequently unable to absorb such damage; and fourth, the risk is highly mobile to the effect that the insured event often occurs in Member States other than the country of origin. Where such conditions are satisfied by cumulation, the need for and chances of a harmonisation of rules on compulsory liability insurance is high.

For future legislation it is also relevant to be aware of the interests pursued by the parties involved. The third-party victim expects full compensation of the loss sustained, regardless of whether it is paid by the debtor or by its liability insurer. Policyholders generally want to avoid insolvency resulting from the liability they incur in the framework of their professional activities. They will often take out insurance voluntarily and on the basis of an appropriate individualized risk assessment. However, there are always some risk-prone entrepreneurs; they are targeted by rules on compulsory liability insurance. Insurers generally prefer voluntary liability insurance which allows them to negotiate the exclusion of certain risks, franchises and other terms of the contract in the individual case; the risk-adjusted premium usually provides for more efficient solutions. Compulsory liability insurance engenders the possibility that insurers are compelled to cover a risk that they would not like to accept, but are required to underwrite in accordance with state law, as it happened in the breast implants case. The premiums are usually calculated across the board for a whole category of damage which is often inefficient. On the other hand, compulsory liability insurance increases the demand for insurance and may help insurers to establish relations with clients who also need other insurances.