# Glossary of Estonian insurance law terms (English–Estonian)

URL: https://insurancelawestonia.ee/glossary/
Author: Dr Olavi-Jüri Luik, Partner, Head of Insurance Law, attorney at law (Advokaadibüroo WIDEN OÜ)
Last updated: 2026-11-08

> Over 100 Estonian insurance law terms with English equivalents and explanations: policyholder, withdrawal, cancellation, subrogation, insured event.

This glossary gives the Estonian terms used in insurance law and practice, an English equivalent and a short explanation of the legal meaning. English insurance vocabulary often has no exact Estonian counterpart; where a single translation would mislead, the explanation describes the legal consequence instead. Where the official English translation of the Law of Obligations Act (*võlaõigusseadus*, VÕS) uses a particular term, that term is given first.[^1] References are to VÕS unless stated otherwise. Abbreviations of acts are explained in section A.

**How to read the English equivalents.** The English term in each entry is a working equivalent, not an import of the common law concept that bears the same name. Where an English term has its own meaning in English or other common law insurance law (for example rescission, avoidance, warranty, condition precedent or repudiation), the Estonian concept is defined by its Estonian legal consequence: whether the contract ends with effect from the outset or only for the future, whether the insurer is released for one insured event only, or whether there was no cover in the first place. Each entry names the governing provision; the binding text is the Estonian act in Riigi Teataja. The legal treatment of the terms most often confused is explained on the pages on [ending the contract](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/estonian-insurance-contract-law/ending-the-contract), [exclusions versus obligations](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/estonian-insurance-contract-law/exclusions-vs-obligations) and [safety obligations and proportionality](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/estonian-insurance-contract-law/safety-obligations-and-proportionality).

## A. Acts and institutions

1. **Law of Obligations Act**: *võlaõigusseadus* (VÕS). Contains the insurance contract chapter (§§ 422–567) and general contract and tort law.
2. **General Part of the Civil Code Act**: *tsiviilseadustiku üldosa seadus* (TsÜS). Rules on legal persons, transactions, nullity, avoidance and limitation.
3. **Insurance Activities Act**: *kindlustustegevuse seadus* (KindlTS). Regulatory law: authorisation, supervision, Solvency II, distribution.
4. **Motor Insurance Act**: *liikluskindlustuse seadus* (LKindlS). Compulsory motor third-party liability insurance. Not to be abbreviated "LKS".
5. **Healthcare Provider's Compulsory Liability Insurance Act**: *tervishoiuteenuse osutaja kohustusliku vastutuskindlustuse seadus* (TOKVS). The "patient insurance" regime.
6. **Code of Civil Procedure**: *tsiviilkohtumenetluse seadustik* (TsMS). Civil procedure and arbitration law.
7. **Commercial Code**: *äriseadustik* (ÄS). Company law, including board members' duties and liability.
8. **Bankruptcy Act**: *pankrotiseadus* (PankrS).
9. **Cybersecurity Act**: *küberturvalisuse seadus* (KüTS). Transposes NIS2.
10. **International Sanctions Act**: *rahvusvahelise sanktsiooni seadus* (RSanS).
11. **Financial Supervision Authority**: *Finantsinspektsioon*. Supervisor of insurers and intermediaries.
12. **Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund**: *Liikluskindlustuse Fond* (LKF). Green Card bureau and compensation body for motor insurance.
13. **Supreme Court**: *Riigikohus*. Court of cassation; its Civil Chamber decides insurance cases.
14. **State Gazette**: *Riigi Teataja*. Official publication of legislation, with consolidated texts.
15. **Information System Authority**: *Riigi Infosüsteemi Amet* (RIA). Receives NIS2 incident notifications.
16. **Data Protection Inspectorate**: *Andmekaitse Inspektsioon*. GDPR supervisory authority.
17. **Financial Intelligence Unit**: *Rahapesu Andmebüroo*. Competent authority for financial sanctions.

## B. Parties

18. **Insurer**: *kindlustusandja*. The party that undertakes to perform on the occurrence of the insured event.
19. **Policyholder**: *kindlustusvõtja*. The contracting party who concludes the contract and owes the premium. Not the same as the insured person.
20. **Insured person**: *kindlustatud isik*. The person whose interest, life or health is insured; may be a third party (§§ 424, 463). In colloquial Estonian also *kindlustatu*.
21. **Beneficiary**: *soodustatud isik*. The person entitled to receive the insurance money, mainly in sums insurance (§ 425).
22. **Injured party**: *kahjustatud isik*. The third party harmed by the insured in liability insurance.
23. **Entitled person**: *õigustatud isik*. Term used for example in TOKVS for the person entitled to compensation.
24. **Insurance broker**: *kindlustusmaakler*. Intermediary acting in the client's interest.
25. **Insurance agent**: *kindlustusagent*. Intermediary acting on behalf of an insurer.
26. **Ancillary insurance agent**: *kõrvaltegevusena tegutsev kindlustusagent*.
27. **Leading insurer**: *juhtiv kindlustusandja*. In co-insurance, represents the other insurers (§ 485).
28. **Claims representative**: *esindaja* (KindlTS § 41; LKindlS § 48). Representative of a foreign motor insurer in Estonia with authority to handle and settle claims.
29. **Bankruptcy trustee**: *pankrotihaldur*.
30. **Management board member**: *juhatuse liige*; **supervisory board member**: *nõukogu liige*.

## C. Contract and cover

31. **Insurance contract**: *kindlustusleping* (§ 422). In legal writing: "in the insurance contract" = *kindlustuslepingus*.
32. **Insured event**: *kindlustusjuhtum*. The event on whose occurrence the insurer must perform.
33. **Insured risk**: *kindlustusrisk*.
34. **Insured object**: *kindlustatud ese*.
35. **Sum insured**: *kindlustussumma*. The agreed upper limit of the insurer's performance.
36. **Sub-limit**: *alamlimiit* (plural *alamlimiidid*).
37. **Aggregate limit**: no statutory Estonian term; wordings use descriptive expressions for an annual or aggregate maximum.
38. **Deductible / excess**: *omavastutus*. In compulsory liability insurance it cannot be set against the injured party (§ 521 lg 8).
39. **Premium**: *kindlustusmakse*.
40. **Insurance period**: *kindlustusperiood*. Period on which premium is calculated; presumed one year (§ 453).
41. **Period of cover**: *kindlustuskaitse kehtivuse aeg*.
42. **Policy**: *poliis*. Document evidencing the contract (§ 434).
43. **Standard terms**: *tüüptingimused* (§ 35). Insurance conditions are standard terms subject to control (§§ 35–44).
44. **Insurance conditions**: *kindlustustingimused*.
45. **Immediate (provisional) cover**: *kohene kindlustuskaitse* (§ 439).
46. **Retroactive cover**: *tagasiulatuv kindlustus* (§ 438).
47. **Compulsory insurance**: *kohustuslik kindlustus* (§ 422¹).
48. **Indemnity insurance**: *kahjukindlustus*. Insurance compensating actual loss.
49. **Sums insurance**: *summakindlustus*. Insurance paying an agreed sum (life, accident).
50. **Liability insurance**: *vastutuskindlustus* (§ 510).
51. **Property insurance**: *varakindlustus*.
52. **Cargo insurance**: *veosekindlustus* (§§ 505–509).
53. **Legal expenses insurance**: *õigusabikulude kindlustus* (§§ 526–531).
54. **Reinsurance**: *edasikindlustus*.
55. **Co-insurance**: *kaaskindlustus* (§ 484). Division of a risk among insurers in fixed shares.
56. **Multiple (double) insurance**: *mitmekordne kindlustus* (§ 486).
57. **Large risks**: *suurriskid*. Informal term; see § 427 lg 2–3.
58. **Insurance for the account of a third party**: *kolmanda isiku riski kindlustamine* (§§ 463–465).
59. **Group insurance**: *grupikindlustus*.

## D. Value and quantum

60. **Indemnity**: *kindlustushüvitis* or *hüvitis*. What the insurer pays.
61. **Insurable interest**: *kindlustushuvi* (§ 478).
62. **Insurable value**: *kindlustusväärtus* (§ 479). Value of the insurable interest at the time of the insured event.
63. **Agreed value**: *kokkuleppeline kindlustusväärtus* (§ 480).
64. **Reinstatement value**: *taastamisväärtus* (§ 480 lg 4 for buildings).
65. **Under-insurance**: *alakindlustus* (§ 482). Proportional indemnity.
66. **Over-insurance**: *ülekindlustus* (§ 481).
67. **Loss of profit**: *saamata jäänud tulu*. Covered only if expressly agreed (§ 476).
68. **Mitigation costs**: *kahju vältimise ja vähendamise kulud* (§ 491).
69. **Damage / loss**: *kahju*. Pecuniary damage *varaline kahju*; non-pecuniary damage *mittevaraline kahju*.
70. **Late payment interest**: *viivis*. Cannot be excluded by agreement (§ 451).
71. **Expert determination**: *eksperdi hinnang*; valid only with neutral or parity appointment (§ 490).

## E. Duties of the policyholder

72. **Duty of pre-contractual disclosure**: *lepingueelne teatamiskohustus* (§ 440).
73. **Material circumstance**: *oluline asjaolu*.
74. **Obligation (of the policyholder)**: *kohustus*; in German *Obliegenheit*. Conduct requirement whose breach may release the insurer only under § 452 lg 2.
75. **Safety requirement / precautionary measure**: *ohutusnõue*, *hoolsuskohustus*. Pre-loss obligation to reduce the risk.
76. **Increase (aggravation) of risk**: *kindlustusriski võimalikkuse suurenemine* (§§ 443–447).
77. **Notification of the insured event**: *kindlustusjuhtumist teatamine* (§ 448).
78. **Duty to mitigate**: *kahju vältimise ja vähendamise kohustus* (§ 488).
79. **Duty to cooperate**: *koostöökohustus*. Recognised in case law as the counterpart of the insurer's burden of proof.

## F. Insurer's defences and ways a contract or claim ends

80. **Nullity**: *tühisus*. A void transaction has no effect from the outset without any declaration (TsÜS § 84). Example: fraudulent multiple insurance (§ 486 lg 4), sanctions violations (RSanS § 7).
81. **Avoidance**: *tühistamine*. Declaration eliminating a transaction made under mistake, fraud or threat, with effect from the outset (TsÜS §§ 90–99). Deadline six months from knowledge of the mistake or fraud (for threat or violence, from when its effect ceased), with an absolute limit of three years from the transaction (ten years for threat or violence) (TsÜS § 99). Not interchangeable with the insurer's withdrawal for non-disclosure (*taganemine*, VÕS §§ 441–442).
82. **Withdrawal**: *taganemine*. Official translation term. Permitted in insurance only where provided by law (§ 466): insurer for non-disclosure (§ 441) or unpaid first premium (§ 457); policyholder's cooling-off right (§ 433; for distance contracts § 56, with a 30-day period for life and pension insurance concluded at a distance by a consumer, § 56 lg 1⁵). Not equivalent to English "rescission".
83. **Cancellation**: *ülesütlemine*. Official translation term. Ends the contract for the future (for example §§ 446, 458, 468–473, 519).
84. **Release from the performance obligation**: *täitmiskohustusest vabanemine*. The insurer need not pay for a specific insured event; the contract continues (for example §§ 445, 449 lg 2, 452).
85. **Reduction of the indemnity**: *hüvitise vähendamine*. The insurer pays less in proportion to its prejudice or the statutory ratio (§§ 449 lg 1, 482, 488 lg 3).
86. **Absence of cover**: *katte puudumine*. No insured event or a genuine exclusion applies.
87. **Refusal to indemnify / declination**: *hüvitamisest keeldumine*. A factual decision; triggers the one-year action period only with the warning in § 475 lg 3.
88. **Exclusion**: *välistus*. Objective description of risks not covered.
89. **Right to object**: *vastuvaidlemisõigus* (§ 432). The policyholder's right to object if pre-contractual information was not provided.
90. **Reservation of rights**: no statutory term or fixed Estonian equivalent; the letter should be described by its content (see [claims handling support](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/services-for-insurers/claims-handling-support)).
91. **Rescission**: no single equivalent. Depending on context: *taganemine* (withdrawal), *tühistamine* (avoidance) or *ülesütlemine* (cancellation).
92. **Repudiation (of a claim)**: usually *hüvitamisest keeldumine*; for the contract, see withdrawal, avoidance and cancellation.
93. **Termination**: generic; in Estonian *lõpetamine*, but the legal consequence depends on the mechanism used.

## G. Time limits

94. **Limitation (expiry of claims)**: *aegumine*. The official translation of § 475 uses "expiry of claims".
95. **Limitation period**: *aegumistähtaeg*. Three years from the end of the year in which the claim fell due (§ 475 lg 1).
96. **Suspension of limitation**: *aegumise peatumine* (§ 475 lg 2; TsÜS §§ 160–168). The time during which limitation is suspended is not counted, but time that ran before the suspension still counts, and the claim does not expire earlier than two months after the suspension ends (TsÜS § 168). Notification of a claim to the insurer suspends limitation until the policyholder receives the decision, subject to a ten-year cap (§ 475 lg 2). Contrast **interruption** (*aegumise katkemine*), for example by acknowledgement of the claim, after which the period starts again (TsÜS § 158).
97. **Preclusive period**: *õigust lõpetav tähtaeg*. The one-year action period after declination (§ 475 lg 3).
98. **Due date of the claim**: *sissenõutavaks muutumine* (§ 450).

## H. Liability insurance, recovery and procedure

99. **Direct claim / direct action**: *otsenõue*. In compulsory liability insurance (§ 521).
100. **Preferential right**: *eelisõigus*. Injured party's priority over the insurance claim in the insured's bankruptcy (§ 518).
101. **Defence costs**: *õigusabikulud*, *kaitsekulud* (§ 511).
102. **Consent to settle**: *kindlustusandja nõusolek nõude rahuldamiseks või tunnustamiseks* (§ 515).
103. **Subrogation**: *nõude üleminek* (§ 492). Statutory transfer of the insured's claim to the insurer.
104. **Recourse**: *tagasinõue*, *regress*. The insurer's own claim, for example against the driver in motor insurance (LKindlS § 53).
105. **Family privilege**: no standard Estonian term; refers to the limitation of subrogation against family members (§ 492 lg 3).
106. **Joint and several liability**: *solidaarvastutus*.
107. **Tortfeasor / person liable**: *kahju tekitaja*, *kahju hüvitama kohustatud isik*.
108. **Strict liability**: *riskivastutus* (for example § 1056 for major sources of danger).
109. **Product liability**: *tootevastutus* (§§ 1061–1067).
110. **Burden of proof**: *tõendamiskoormis* (TsMS § 230).
111. **Interim measures / securing of action**: *hagi tagamine*.
112. **Conciliation**: *lepitus*.
113. **Arbitration court**: *vahekohus*; arbitration agreement *vahekohtumenetluse kokkulepe* (TsMS §§ 718–719).
114. **Bailiff**: *kohtutäitur*.
115. **Clawback (in bankruptcy)**: *tagasivõitmine* (PankrS §§ 109–110).

## I. Market and regulation

116. **Freedom to provide services**: *piiriülene kindlustustegevus* (KindlTS § 32 ff.; for foreign insurers in Estonia, § 36).
117. **Branch**: *filiaal* (KindlTS §§ 25, 37).
118. **List of intermediaries**: *vahendajate nimekiri*.
119. **Demands and needs**: *kindlustushuvi ja nõudmised* (KindlTS § 221).
120. **Insurance product information document (IPID)**: *kahjukindlustustoote teabedokument* (KindlTS § 103²).
121. **Green Card**: *roheline kaart*.
122. **Patient insurance**: *patsiendikindlustus*. Common name for the TOKVS compulsory liability insurance.
123. **Vaccine injury insurance**: *vaktsiinikindlustus*. Scheme under the Medicinal Products Act (*ravimiseadus*, RavS).
124. **Artificial intelligence**: *tehisaru*. Preferred Estonian legal term (rather than *tehisintellekt*, which appears in act titles).
125. **Trigger**: *trigger* is used in Estonian practice for the event activating cover (occurrence, claims-made, discovery).

## Related pages

- [Ending the contract: nullity, avoidance, withdrawal, cancellation](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/estonian-insurance-contract-law/ending-the-contract)
- [Estonian insurance contract law: overview](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/estonian-insurance-contract-law)
- [Frequently asked questions](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/faq)
- [Policy wording review](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/services-for-insurers/wording-review)
- [Guides](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/guides)
- [Insurance law principles and theories](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/estonian-insurance-contract-law/principles-and-theories)

## References

[^1]: Law of Obligations Act (võlaõigusseadus, VÕS). RT I, 20.06.2026, 18 (in force 01.09.2026). Estonian: <https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/V%C3%95S>; English translation: <https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/527122023005/consolide/current>.