Optionales europäisches Versicherungsvertragsrecht

An Optional Instrument for European Insurance Contract Law In its first chapter, the article explains why a European insurance contract law in the form of an optional instrument is needed to complete the internal insurance market. Essentially, this is due to the existence of a large number of mandatory rules in conflict of laws as well as the substantive law of insurance, both of which form a serious barrier to the functioning of the internal insurance market. The »Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL)« are presented as a model optional instrument in the second chapter, where the basic features of the model law, in particular its regulatory approach, are set out. The optional character of a European instrument is discussed in the third chapter. It applies, but is not restricted to insurance contract law. In essence, an argument is advanced in favour of a »2nd regime« model. This model has since been adopted by the Commission Proposal on a Common European Sales Law (COM(2011) 635 final).