It is not possible to deny insurance coverage through complicated interpretations of the insurance contract

The Supreme Court by order no. 11092/2020 clarified that it is not possible to exclude insurance coverage through complex interpretations of the policy. In the case at issue, the plaintiffs challenged the decisions of first and second instances based on the exclusion of the policy, which could be considered effective only in the event of total or partial destruction of the buildings. Furthermore, they claimed that they entered into addendums which retroactively extended the validity of the policy and that the acceptance of the payment of premiums without reserves by the company represented a tacit waiver of the policy’s inefficacy.

The Supreme Court upheld the appeal, stating that the judges had made a wrong interpretation of the clauses, violating the principles of global interpretation (art. 1362, par. 2, civil code), systematic interpretation (art. 1363 civil code), functional interpretation (art. 1369 civil code) and good faith interpretation (art. 1366 civil code). In particular, according to the Supreme Court, the judges of first and second instances failed not considering that the Company did not inform the insured regarding the fact that the addendum did not cover the previous risk, although they received regular payment of insurance premiums. Therefore, this consist of a waiver of the policy’s ineffectiveness.

Leave a Reply