Insurance Contracts Online and Consumer Protection Under the European and Greek Laws

Abstract

The chapter refers to the comparatively "new," in the Greek market, product of online insurance and especially to the protection of the policy holder, who acts as a consumer. After making some empirical observations on the sale of insurance products online the article examines the following issues the specific legal nature and content of the insurance contracts, as well as the legislative framework, are examined. The author deals also with the term of the consumer, especially in the field of insurance law and generally in the Greek special consumer protection law (L. 2251/1994). This law (art. 4a, renumbered as 4i), which refers to the distance marketing of financial services) has incorporated in the Greek law all the relevant articles of Directive 2002/65/EC ("Distance marketing of consumer financial services"), without any change, although according to art. 3 9 of the Directive, the Member States could impose requirements that are more restrictive or prescriptive in the field of financial services. In the following chapter, legal issues related to the conclusion of insurance contracts online are analyzed and particularly the rights and duties of the parties, such as the precontractual obligations of the insurance company, the information duties and rights, etc. An important place in the article is devoted to unfair commercial practices and the relative protection of the consumer of insurance products online according to the Greek law that also in this case has fully incorporated the provisions in Directive 2005/29/EC ("Unfair B2C commercial practices"). The article is concluded by some final remarks according to the legal "safety" of the insurance online and especially to the relative consumer protection.