The Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL) and Their Application to Insurance Contracts for Large Risks

In 2009, the first three parts of the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL) were published. This harmonisation project was driven by concerns about the proper functioning of the internal market for consumer insurance in the EU. The intention would be to implement the PEICL as an optional instrument, i.e. an EU regulation which gives the parties of an insurance contract the option to choose the PEICL instead of any national law as the applicable law to their insurance contract. This paper discusses possible benefits and downsides of applying the PEICL also to insurance contracts for large risks. In addition, the author analyses selected articles of the PEICL on the basis of prevailing insurance market practice for large risks, with a view to understanding to what extent such practice would warrant deviation from the PEICL.