Insurance law

Our lawyers have lengthy first-hand experience in a wide range of matters relating to insurance law and insurance issues. We represent both insurance policyholders and insurance companies. The commissions we receive are often based on differences of opinion between the policyholder and the insurance company concerning compensability as part of an insurance policy.

In Finland, insurance against loss or damage and pension insurance are regulated by the Insurance Contracts Act (543/1994). The Insurance Contracts Act in principle is the imperative legal provision when the policyholder or the insured is a consumer, entrepreneur, or small company. The imperative nature of a legal provision means, in this case, that the terms and conditions of the insurance cannot detract from the protections provided to policyholders by the Insurance Contracts Act.

The Insurance Contracts Act applies to all insurance against loss or damage, including e.g. property insurance and liability insurance. Property insurance primarily covers property that is not covered by the insurance policy, and also unpredictable damage and destruction. Insured property can be e.g. a home or the furniture contained in it, a summer cottage, vehicles, or travel items.

Home insurance usually also contains liability insurance (also called third party insurance), which is intended to cover any possible liability for damage to a third party that may be caused by the policyholder. Most often this insurance also contains legal expenses insurance to cover any possible legal costs that might be incurred by court cases involving the policyholder.

Companies in particular may have, in addition to the normal property and third party insurance, a significant number of other insurance policies. Insurance companies have created a remarkable number of different insurance policies and services alongside all the regular property and liability insurance policies; these are part of the risk-management resources of a company. Various kinds of third party insurance are widely used. Loss of income caused by interruption of a company’s business operations can be protected against by taking out business interruption insurance / loss of profits insurance.

Compensability relating to disputes or differences of opinion between contracting parties is in many cases based on limitations to the terms and conditions contained in an insurance policy. Almost all insurance policies contain limitations, i.e. restrictions on the range and type of situations that the insurance will cover. Insurance policies also often contain precautionary guidelines, which the policyholder should follow and uphold carefully in order to prevent damage. Infringement of the precautionary guidelines of an insurance policy will bring certain consequences for the policyholder, including potential loss of insurance cover to some specified degree.

Disputes involving insurance policies can be brought for resolution to either a local court, or alternatively to the Insurance Board, which is a body jointly founded by the insurance companies operating in Finland. The Insurance Board provides the disputing sides with non-binding recommendations for each particular case brought before it. If one or other of the disputants is unsatisfied by the recommendation of the Board, the matter can be taken further by bringing it to an ordinary court. For some particular types of insurance, disputes must be brought instead to the Insurance Court or to an average adjuster for resolution, rather than being brought before a general court of first instance.