Changes to motor insurance laws are being introduced on 14 October 2011, 1 January 2012 and 11 February 2012.
From 11 February 2012, policyholders with two overlapping third-party motor insurance policies will be able to terminate one of them, instead of having to wait until one expires.
From the same date, insurers will be obliged to:
- give policyholders at least 14 days’ notice of the renewal date for their third-party motor insurance
- reimburse the Insurance Guarantee Fund where it is shown to have paid a benefit that the insurer should have paid (this confirms the existing practice).
In addition, all insurers, (whether or not they offer third-party motor insurance) will be required to:
- provide documents about claims in electronic format where requested by policyholders or injured parties
- treat documents as delivered to their head office when they are delivered to their insurance agents. This will mainly affect unit-linked insurance products, since they are likely to make null and void the commonly-used provision that units can only be converted or redeemed once a request is delivered to the insurers’ head office.
Law: Act amending the Act on Obligatory Insurance, the Insurance Guarantee Fund and the Polish Motor Insurers’ Bureau and certain other Acts.
