The Statutory Duty of Customer Needs and Requirements Assessment in Liability Insurance

Abstract

The article aims at considering the general rules for the assessment of customer needs and requirements as well as presenting the reasons for the introduction of this obligation and showing the differences between the above-mentioned legal concepts. Furthermore, the author examines the necessity to recognize the customer needs and requirements in the civil liability insurance. She emphasizes that, due to the nature of the civil liability insurance, it is a fundamental need of the liability insurance customer to conclude an insurance contract with the insurance cover as comprehensive as possible. In contrast to other types of insurance, in the case of which the claims settlement or the amount of compensation are also important, in liability insurance customers want to obtain a guarantee that in the event of an injury to a third party they will not be obliged to compensate it personally. This obligation will be ‘taken over’ by the insurer, with whom the liability insurance contract has been signed. It is the policyholder (the insured) and not the injured who is the liability insurance customer, whose needs and requirements are analyzed.