ICC Comments on a European legal framework for insurance contracts.
ICC appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on the EESC questionnaire on this issue. ICC’s diverse membership, which includes both the suppliers and the users of insurance services, puts ICC in a unique position to build and provide a global business consensus on these issues.
ICC wishes to stress that insurance contract law should always be considered in the context of general contract law since it constitutes nothing else but a specific field of the law of obligations. Thus, any initiatives should be carefully analyzed to make sure that the basic principles of contract law are not tampered with.
Freedom of contract must be respected. Party autonomy goes to the heart of business, and the binding nature of contracts and the enforceability of their terms form the very foundation of modern business. In this regard, it is essential to make a clear distinction between business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) contractual relationships. In a B2C relationship, there may be good reasons for protecting consumers as the weaker party. Such protection should not be extended to a relationship between two professionals.
ICC hopes that these comments are helpful, and stands ready to work with EESC on this most important issue.
