For many years, we have been instructed by various payment protection insurers domiciled in Germany and abroad to defend against claims at all court locations nationwide, in particular those arising from payment protection due to disability, unemployment or life insurance. Legal issues in connection with the conclusion of the contract often play a role here, such as obligations to obtain legal advice or the effective adherence to the General Conditions for Insurance (AVB). The effectiveness of benefit-limiting provisions, such as pre-existing conditions clauses or exclusions of certain medical conditions, is also occasionally under discussion. Since the majority of the legal disputes concern the subject area of “incapacity for work”, the cases are handled by specialised litigators from our Health Insurance department, who have a high degree of experience in assessing medical facts and their consequences for capacity for work or occupational disability.
We also use our forensic expertise to further develop payment protection insurance products. Together with our experts from the area of corporate counselling, we advise payment protection insurers. The design of distribution channels and their protection by the supervisory authorities is another focal point. Overall, we advise payment protection insurers as well as banks on product design and on all legal issues in connection with product distribution, for example, most recently on the many cases concerning a commission cap according to § 50a of the German Law on the Supervision of Insurance Companies (VAG), which entered into force on 01 July 2022.
