{
  "id": "clause-consent-to-settle",
  "type": "clause",
  "languages": {
    "en": {
      "id": "clause-consent-to-settle",
      "lang": "en",
      "type": "clause",
      "title": "Consent to Settle Clause",
      "shortDefinition": "The consent to settle clause requires the insurer to obtain the insured's approval before concluding a settlement, rather than settling claims against the insured unilaterally.",
      "synonyms": [
        "Right to Consent",
        "No Settlement Without Consent"
      ],
      "linesOfBusiness": [
        "D&O insurance",
        "Professional indemnity insurance"
      ],
      "jurisdictions": [
        "Global"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "D&O",
        "Claims Handling"
      ],
      "relations": {
        "relatedTerms": [],
        "partOf": [],
        "appliesTo": [
          "cov-do",
          "cov-berufshaftpflicht"
        ],
        "regulatedBy": [],
        "relevantFor": [],
        "insurableVia": [],
        "mitigatedBy": [],
        "comprises": [],
        "alternativeTo": [],
        "complementedBy": []
      },
      "attribute": null,
      "profile": null,
      "coverageProfile": null,
      "clause": {
        "kind": "condition",
        "origin": "international-programme",
        "favours": "insured",
        "negotiability": "negotiable",
        "standardWordings": []
      },
      "legalBasis": [],
      "standards": [],
      "reviewStatus": "expert-reviewed",
      "reviewedBy": "Guido Hesse, Hesse Group Holding AG",
      "lastReviewed": "2026-09-04",
      "version": "0.1.0",
      "updated": "2026-09-03",
      "generated": {
        "by": "cursor-agent/claude-sonnet-5",
        "at": "2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "verified": [
        {
          "by": "human:ghesse",
          "at": "2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z",
          "method": null
        }
      ],
      "staleAfter": null,
      "url": "https://hgh.ch/lexikon/en/knowledge/clause/consent-to-settle-clause/",
      "alternateUrl": "https://hgh.ch/lexikon/de/wissen/klausel/consent-to-settle-klausel/",
      "body": "## Purpose\n\nIn professional indemnity, D&O and other reputation-sensitive lines, a settlement has direct consequences for the insured's reputation and professional standing — unlike in ordinary casualty liability cover, where the insurer generally has sole discretion to settle. The consent to settle clause reflects this by giving the insured a say: the insurer may not settle a claim against the insured without the insured's approval.\n\n## Effect and limits\n\nIn practice the consent right is almost always coupled with a hammer clause: if the insured withholds consent to a settlement the insurer regards as reasonable, the insurer's liability is capped at the proposed amount plus costs incurred up to that point. Taken alone, the consent to settle clause formally gives the insured control over the settlement decision, but without an accompanying \"soft\" cost-sharing mechanism it effectively shifts the economic risk of a refusal onto the insured.\n\n## Negotiation and practice\n\nWhen negotiating the wording, it should be checked whether the consent right is qualified as \"shall not be unreasonably withheld\", which leaves the insured more room than an absolute consent requirement. Equally important is the accompanying design of the hammer clause, since its cost consequences ultimately determine how valuable the consent right is in practice."
    },
    "de": {
      "id": "clause-consent-to-settle",
      "lang": "de",
      "type": "clause",
      "title": "Consent to Settle Clause",
      "shortDefinition": "Die Consent-to-Settle-Klausel verpflichtet den Versicherer, vor einem Vergleichsabschluss die Zustimmung des Versicherten einzuholen, statt eigenmächtig über Klagen gegen ihn zu verfügen.",
      "synonyms": [
        "Right to Consent",
        "No Settlement Without Consent"
      ],
      "linesOfBusiness": [
        "D&O-Versicherung",
        "Berufshaftpflichtversicherung"
      ],
      "jurisdictions": [
        "Global"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "D&O",
        "Schadenregulierung"
      ],
      "relations": {
        "relatedTerms": [],
        "partOf": [],
        "appliesTo": [
          "cov-do",
          "cov-berufshaftpflicht"
        ],
        "regulatedBy": [],
        "relevantFor": [],
        "insurableVia": [],
        "mitigatedBy": [],
        "comprises": [],
        "alternativeTo": [],
        "complementedBy": []
      },
      "attribute": null,
      "profile": null,
      "coverageProfile": null,
      "clause": {
        "kind": "condition",
        "origin": "international-programme",
        "favours": "insured",
        "negotiability": "negotiable",
        "standardWordings": []
      },
      "legalBasis": [],
      "standards": [],
      "reviewStatus": "expert-reviewed",
      "reviewedBy": "Guido Hesse, Hesse Group Holding AG",
      "lastReviewed": "2026-09-04",
      "version": "0.1.0",
      "updated": "2026-09-03",
      "generated": {
        "by": "cursor-agent/claude-sonnet-5",
        "at": "2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "verified": [
        {
          "by": "human:ghesse",
          "at": "2026-09-04T00:00:00.000Z",
          "method": null
        }
      ],
      "staleAfter": null,
      "url": "https://hgh.ch/lexikon/de/wissen/klausel/consent-to-settle-klausel/",
      "alternateUrl": "https://hgh.ch/lexikon/en/knowledge/clause/consent-to-settle-clause/",
      "body": "## Zweck\n\nBei Berufshaftpflicht-, D&O- und ähnlichen Reputationssensitiven Deckungen hat ein Vergleich unmittelbare Auswirkungen auf den Ruf und die berufliche Zulassung des Versicherten – anders als bei reiner Sachschadenhaftpflicht, wo der Versicherer regelmässig frei über Vergleiche entscheiden darf. Die Consent-to-Settle-Klausel trägt dem Rechnung, indem sie dem Versicherten ein Mitspracherecht einräumt: Der Versicherer darf einen Anspruch gegen ihn nicht ohne dessen Zustimmung vergleichen.\n\n## Wirkung und Grenzen\n\nDas Zustimmungsrecht ist in der Praxis fast immer mit einer Hammer Clause gekoppelt: Verweigert der Versicherte die Zustimmung zu einem vom Versicherer für angemessen gehaltenen Vergleich, beschränkt sich dessen Leistungspflicht auf den vorgeschlagenen Betrag zuzüglich bis dahin angefallener Kosten. Die Consent-to-Settle-Klausel allein gibt dem Versicherten also formal Kontrolle über die Vergleichsentscheidung, verlagert aber – ohne begleitende «weiche» Kostenteilung – das wirtschaftliche Risiko einer Ablehnung faktisch auf ihn.\n\n## Verhandlung und Praxis\n\nBei der Verhandlung des Wordings ist zu prüfen, ob das Zustimmungsrecht «nicht unangemessen verweigert werden darf» («shall not be unreasonably withheld») formuliert ist, was dem Versicherten mehr Spielraum belässt als eine unbedingte Zustimmungspflicht. Ebenso wichtig ist die begleitende Ausgestaltung der Hammer Clause, da erst deren Kostenfolgen bestimmen, wie werthaltig das Zustimmungsrecht in der Praxis tatsächlich ist."
    }
  }
}