Type: Judgment

Authority: European Authorities: Euopean Union' Court of Justice

Date: 03/07/2013

Subject: The Court affirmed that Directive 92/49/EEC, on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance must be interpreted as not precluding legislation of a Member State which provides, with regard to health insurance contracts not linked to professional activity, provisions under which the premium, the excess payable and the benefit can be adapted annually only on the basis of the consumer price index, or on the basis of a so-called ‘medical index’, if and in so far as the changes in that index exceed that in the consumer price index, or after obtaining authorisation from an administrative authority responsible for the supervision of insurance undertakings, at the request of the insurance undertaking concerned, where that authority finds that the application of the premium rate of that undertaking, notwithstanding the adaptations calculated on the basis of those two types of indices, gives rise to, or is likely to give rise to losses. According to the Court, Articles 49 TFEU and 56 TFEU must be interpreted as not precluding such legislation, provided that there are no less restrictive measures which might be used to achieve, under the same conditions, the objective of protecting consumers against sharp, unexpected increases in insurance premium rates, which it is for the national court to ascertain.

Parties: DKV Belgium SA

Classification: Solidarity - Art. 38 Consumer protection

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