Written Form / Text Form Clause

Purpose

For declarations with significant legal consequences – such as rescission, termination, or notification of an increase in risk – statute or contract often prescribes a particular form, so that the content and timing of the declaration can be proven if disputed. The clause specifies whether the stricter written form (handwritten signature) or the more lenient text form (a legible declaration on a durable medium, such as email) suffices.

Effect and limits

Text form has largely superseded written form in modern VVG provisions, as it accommodates digital communication channels such as email or customer portals without undermining the evidential purpose. Where the prescribed form is not observed, the declaration is generally invalid; some provisions soften this through a subsequent cure or by favouring the interpretation more advantageous to the policyholder.

Negotiation and practice

In practice, insurers usually designate uniform digital communication channels (customer portal, email inbox) as compliant with text form and state expressly in the policy wording which declarations this covers. For declarations prone to dispute, such as termination after a claim, both sides are nonetheless well advised to use a form with proof of receipt.

Jurisdictional comparison

Switzerland has no general form requirement under the Code of Obligations, but the VVG expressly prescribes written form or an equivalent text form for individual declarations (such as the duty of disclosure under Art. 4 VVG). Germany created a general definition of text form in Section 126b BGB, to which numerous VVG provisions refer. Austria likewise requires text form for certain declarations under Section 1b VersVG, while the insurance contract as a whole is in principle free of form under general civil law.