In short. Insurance law CPD is a free self-study course on Estonian insurance law for insurers, reinsurers, MGAs, brokers, claims handlers, lawyers and risk managers who deal with Estonian risks and claims. The course has 20 modules in six themes. Each module guides you to the articles on this site and to the legal sources, contains a practical case and ends with a self-check quiz with explanations.
Why this course
Insurance law keeps changing: statutes, case law and market conditions all move. The modules explain Estonian insurance law in English and help you apply it to concrete situations, from the distribution rules and the duties of the parties to claims, time limits and cross-border questions.
Insurance distributors are required by law to keep their knowledge up to date. Under the Insurance Distribution Directive, persons involved in distribution must complete at least 15 hours of professional training or development per year (IDD Art 10(2)). In Estonia the insurer must ensure 15 hours of insurance training a year for employees directly engaged in distribution, for natural-person insurance agents and for natural persons directly engaged in distribution at an insurance agency whose main business is insurance distribution (KindlTS § 103¹(2)). Natural persons distributing on behalf of a broker and the broker's management board members must keep their knowledge and skills at the required level (KindlTS § 178(3)–(5)). The broker's procedure must ensure at least 15 hours of insurance training per year for a person directly involved in insurance distribution and must govern the assessment of that person's and the broker's management board member's knowledge and skills (KindlTS § 186(2)(16)).
The course is not approved by the Financial Supervision Authority (Finantsinspektsioon) and does not lead to a certificate. Whether completing a module counts as training under an insurer's or broker's training procedure is for the employer to decide (KindlTS § 105(2)(10), § 186(2)(16)). Each module shows a suggested study time, which includes reading the linked articles and working on the case.
How it works
- Choose a module or a learning path. The modules are grouped by theme; if you are new to Estonian insurance law, start with module 1.
- Read the key points. Each module begins with learning outcomes and key points with references to the statutes.
- Read the linked articles. The section "Read before the quiz" lists articles on this site and the legal sources in Riigi Teataja and EUR-Lex.
- Work on the practical case. Write down your answer, then open the suggested approach and compare.
- Take the self-check quiz. After answering you see an explanation and a statutory reference for each question.
Your progress (the quiz result for each module) is stored only in your browser; your answers are not sent anywhere. No registration is needed.
Learning paths
A learning path is a suggested selection of modules for a particular purpose. Each path below has a suggested study time of 900 minutes, or 15 hours.
- Foundation path: modules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The basics of Estonian insurance law for non-life customer work.
- Distribution law path: modules 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 18 and 20. Distribution, disputes, motor insurance, cross-border distribution and AI.
- Commercial insurance and disputes path: modules 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 19 and 20. For specialists with prior knowledge.
Modules by theme
1. Foundations and distribution
- 1. Introduction to insurance law: Parties to an insurance contract, indemnity and fixed-sum benefits, and the sources of insurance law in Estonia. 90 min.
- 2. Demands and needs: duties and consequences of breach: Identifying the customer's demands and needs, the roles of brokers and agents, and the consequences of deficient advice. 120 min.
- 3. Distribution, ethics and product governance: The concept of insurance distribution, conflicts of interest and remuneration, target markets and the role of the IPID. 90 min.
- 4. Pre-contractual information and risk disclosure: The insurer's information duty, the policyholder's duty to disclose material circumstances, withdrawal and avoidance for fraud. 90 min.
2. The insurance contract and duties
- 5. Standard terms, exclusions and the timing of cover: Reading the policy and terms together, the three stages of standard terms control, claims made cover and retroactive dates. 90 min.
- 6. Premiums, renewal and termination: Consequences of late first and subsequent premiums, the payment notice, cancellation by the insurer and ending of the contract. 60 min.
- 7. Policyholder duties and consequences of breach: Safety obligations, aggravation of risk, notification of the insured event and loss mitigation; effect and consequences of breach. 90 min.
3. Claims and disputes
- 8. Claims handling, evidence and payment due dates: Steps after a loss, burden of proof, when the benefit falls due and the right to claim the minimum amount (VÕS § 450). 90 min.
- 9. Insurance dispute resolution and time limits: Challenging a declinature, conciliation, arbitration and courts, limitation and the one-year period for bringing an action (VÕS § 475). 120 min.
4. Lines of insurance
- 10. Motor liability insurance and cross-border accidents: The MTPL insured event, whom the injured party can claim against, the Green Card and accidents in another country. 120 min.
- 11. Property and business interruption insurance: Insurable value, sum insured and actual loss, under-insurance and the basic business interruption calculation. 90 min.
- 12. Liability insurance and the injured party's claim: Separating liability from cover, the injured party's claim against the insurer, and defence costs within or outside the limit. 90 min.
- 13. Directors' liability and D&O insurance: Management board liability, D&O insured persons and coverage sides, limits, defence costs and the conduct exclusion. 90 min.
- 14. Crime, cyber risk and social engineering: Payment and invoice fraud, the boundary between crime and cyber cover, social engineering sub-limits and multiple policies. 90 min.
- 15. Life and health risks and insurance-based investments: Forms of life insurance, beneficiaries, suitability assessment for unit-linked life insurance and PRIIPs information. 90 min.
5. Cross-border and emerging issues
- 16. Cross-border insurance distribution: Branches and freedom of services for Estonian intermediaries, foreign intermediaries in Estonia and the applicable contract law. 120 min.
- 17. Governing law, jurisdiction and subrogation: The law applicable to insurance contracts, the Brussels I bis insurance section, transfer of the claim to the insurer and recovery. 90 min.
- 18. AI and data in insurance decisions: AI use cases in insurance, automated decisions under GDPR Art 22, health data and the timetable of the EU AI Act. 120 min.
- 19. Large risks, insurance programmes and reinsurance: The definition of large risks under VÕS § 427, co-insurance versus reinsurance and reading the limits of a layered programme. 90 min.
6. Integrated case study
- 20. Integrated case study: from risk to dispute resolution: An integrated case on invoice fraud, a sub-limit, broker liability and the time limit for an action; building a claim plan. 120 min.
In-house training
The modules can be used as the basis for in-house training or a seminar in which the cases are discussed together and knowledge is checked under the guidance of a trainer. Get in touch.
Legal position
The modules state the law as at 11 November 2026. Statutory references have been checked against Riigi Teataja and EUR-Lex. The course is general training material and is not legal advice on any specific matter.