Original (in Estonian): "Kuidas lahendada kindlustusprobleeme?" (How to solve insurance problems?), Finantsuudised.ee (Äripäev), 30 August 2018. Read the article
Date note: the date of this post (30 August 2018) is the date of the original publication. This English summary was written for this website in 2026.
The article appeared in the year Janno Lahe and Olavi-Jüri Luik published the Estonian textbook Insurance Law (Kindlustusõigus).
Key points
European contract law. Insurance contract law still differs between Member States, which makes cross-border insurance difficult for consumers. In Luik's view the EU had failed to harmonise contract law, even though a ready model existed in the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL).
Insurance fraud. In 2016 insurers reported 451 suspected fraud cases in Estonia, but criminal proceedings were opened in only about 62. Foreign surveys suggest many people do not regard deceiving an insurer as a crime. At the same time only a small share of claims is fraudulent, so suspicion should not be treated as an accusation.
What has changed since
No harmonised European insurance contract law has been adopted, and PEICL remains an academic model. Under Estonian law, an insurer is released from performance where the insured event was caused intentionally (Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS) § 452(1)); fraud otherwise operates through the contract and general law, and the burden of proving it lies with the insurer.