German Insurance Contract Act (VVG)

Subject matter

The 2008 VVG regulates, among other things, the pre-contractual duty of disclosure (sections 19 et seq. VVG) and its legal consequences, increase of risk (sections 23 et seq. VVG), the policyholder’s conditions before and after occurrence of the insured event (section 28 VVG), the legal consequences of grossly negligent causation of the insured event (section 81 VVG), and the maturity, limitation and permissibility of general insurance conditions.

Relationship to general conditions (AVB)

The VVG forms the mandatory or semi-mandatory framework from which general insurance conditions (AVB) and insurers’ clause wordings may not deviate to the detriment of the policyholder (section 32 VVG); for industrial insurance covering large risks, the act allows more extensive freedom of contract.

Relevance for clause drafting

Many clauses common in German market practice – for example on gross negligence, representative liability (Repräsentantenklausel) or breach of conditions – can only be correctly assessed against the backdrop of the mandatory VVG provisions; the act is therefore the regulatedBy target object for the corresponding clause objects of the German jurisdiction.