How to conclude a non-life insurance contract and what to pay attention to?
The National Bank of Ukraine launched an information campaign to protect the rights of consumers of insurance services “Know your rights: insurance” with the support of an international partner – the USAID Project “Investments for business sustainability”. Forinsurer publishes a navigator for consumers of insurance services and tells how to correctly conclude a non-life insurance contract.
Before concluding an insurance contract, find out comprehensive information about the insurance product, insurer or insurance intermediary in order to make an informed decision about using insurance services and be sure of your choice.
Clarification of insurance requirements and needs
The insurer must conclude insurance contracts after ascertaining the client’s needs. In order to better understand what insurance services you need, the insurer or intermediary may ask you to fill out an insurance application. At your request or on its own initiative, the insurer must provide you with individual advice when concluding contracts for insurance classes other than life insurance.
This will allow you to make an informed choice and conclude an insurance contract that will meet your needs as much as possible.
Stage of pre-contractual relations
You have the right to obtain accessible and comprehensive information about the insurance product.
Information about the standard insurance product must be provided free of charge in the form of a unified (standardized) document, compiled clearly and easily. Since it will be in a standardized form, you can easily compare the offers of different insurers for similar products. The necessary information can be provided in paper or electronic form or in another way as agreed.
For convenient and quick familiarization with the terms of the insurance product, insurers and insurance intermediaries are obliged to post on their websites information about the key terms for the registration of the insurance product.
Before concluding an insurance contract, you will have basic information about insurance conditions and will be able to compare offers from different insurers or insurance intermediaries. The cheapest offer is not always the best option. An unreliable company may be hiding behind a low tariff. Insurances that have a long list of exclusions and limitations that can legitimately deny you coverage can also be cheap.
Search for an insurance company
Make sure the insurer is reliable. Before concluding the contract, the insurer or insurance intermediary must provide you as a potential client with the following information:
- name, location, identification code of the insurer according to EDRPOU;
- information about the insurer’s license and the method of its verification;
- the list of services that can be provided at the client’s request, as well as the order and conditions of consulting on insurance services;
- the type of remuneration that the insurer’s sales employee will receive in the event of concluding an insurance contract, including the procedure and conditions for its payment;
- information about any other payments (except insurance premiums) that the client will be required to pay in the event of concluding an insurance contract;
- information on the mechanisms and methods of protecting the rights of consumers of financial services;
- other information provided by the laws of Ukraine and regulatory acts of the National Bank of Ukraine as the regulator of the insurance services market.
If you received an offer to conclude an insurance contract from an insurance intermediary in accordance with Article 88 of the Law of Ukraine “On Insurance”, you have the right to receive comprehensive information about such an insurance intermediary.
Before making a final decision, we advise you to carry out an independent check.
- Find out about the availability of a license from an insurance company or inquire about an insurance intermediary who offers you to conclude an insurance contract. Thanks to the Comprehensive Information System of the National Bank of Ukraine (CIS NBU), you can search the State Register of Financial Institutions for the current date and check information about the insurer.
- Explore the insurance company’s online resources. The insurer’s website must contain clear and up-to-date information about the insurance company, its owners, management, reporting, insurance products it offers.
As a result of thorough inspection, you will be able to learn more about the insurer or insurance intermediary, additional payments, mechanisms for protecting your rights, and therefore make an informed choice and find an insurer you can trust.
Conclusion of an insurance contract
You have the right to study the contract in detail before signing. After receiving all the pre-contractual information and making a choice, it is time to conclude the insurance contract. It can be concluded in paper or electronic forms. The legislation determines the list of things that must be specified in the insurance contract (Article 89 of the Law of Ukraine “On Insurance”).
What should you pay attention to when concluding an insurance contract?
- The size of the insurance amount (limits of liability) – within this amount, you will be able to receive insurance payment in the event of an insurance event.
- Liability limits of the insurer for a certain insurance risk, event or object of insurance.
- The list of insurance risks is unpredictable probable events, in the event of which insurance is provided. The insurance risks specified in the insurance contract may belong to several classes of insurance at the same time.
- List of exceptions from insurance cases. For example, the medical insurance contract usually does not cover the costs of treatment of chronic diseases (except for acute stages) and preventive examinations.
- The amount of the deductible is the part of the loss that the insurer does not compensate.
- Date, periodicity of payment and the amount of the insurance premium: the contract usually becomes effective only after the payment of the insurance premium in full or its first part (on the next day or after a certain period).
- Action procedure in the event of an event that has signs of an insurance event. The untimely notification of the insurer about such an event is usually the reason for the refusal of the insurance payment.
- Rights and obligations of the parties to the contract.
- Deadlines for the insurer to make a decision on making an insurance payment, the procedure and conditions for making insurance payments.
- Availability of attachments, links to related documents and their content.
- In what cases the insurance contract ceases to be valid.
Depending on the insurance product you have chosen, find out which entities, in addition to the insurer, you will have to interact with in the event of an insured event. For example, in the case of drawing up a health insurance contract, find out the list of institutions and hospitals where you can get medical services and which will be covered by the insurance contract.
All important terms of insurance are prescribed in the contract. You should not put your signature without reading it – clarify all the details that you do not understand.
Having carefully studied the insurance contract, you will be sure of your insurance protection, you will know how to act in the event of an insured event, you will avoid misunderstandings and disputes with the insurer regarding the insurance payment, and you will be able to receive high-quality insurance services.
Cancellation of the insurance contract
Within 30 days from the date of conclusion, you have the right to withdraw from the contract. The insurance contract must specify your right as an insured to withdraw from the contract, the procedure and terms for returning the insurance premium (or its part), if you managed to pay it, as well as other conditions for using the right to withdraw from the insurance contract.
The policyholder may, within 30 calendar days from the date of conclusion of the insurance contract, withdraw from such contract without giving reasons.
When can you not refuse the insurance contract?
- the concluded insurance contract is valid for less than 30 days.
- notified of the occurrence of an event that has the characteristics of an insured event under this insurance contract.
If you decide to cancel the insurance contract, notify the insurance company of your intention in writing (electronically).
The right to withdraw from an insurance contract is one of the keys to protecting the rights of consumers of insurance services. It gives customers of insurance companies more control and flexibility in choosing insurance products or services.