Die Bindung an den Versicherungsvertrag

Since the mid-eighties what - in Germany at all events - is frequently a very long-term bond between an insurance client and his policy, has been under discussion as a consumer policy problem and, even more often, as an aspect of competition among insurers. Meanwhile, ideas as to how the law governing insurance contracts could be reformed have taken on concrete shape.
Ms Kühnle starts by setting forth current insurance practice and its consequences. Many insurers are still working with long-term contracts as an important marketing component. Among insured persons, insurance contracts that often run for many years, constitute a considerable inroad into free disposition over their assets.
In the United States, contrary to German legal practice, short-term insurance contracts predominate. The actual term of the contract, however, plays only a very secondary role because, above all else, someone who takes out insurance enjoys a wide range of rights regarding cancellation.
In the course of a comparative legal study which takes account of the handicaps for European law, our author ends her work by drawing the conclusions for Germany"s insurance law.