At Vida SR, as insurance brokers, we always position ourselves on the side of the insured. However, that should not prevent us from giving our interpretation when it helps clarify the different positions.
In our view, the interpretation made by FACUA does not fit within Article 13 of the Insurance Contract Act.
Insurers calculate the cost of motor insurance based on factors such as the vehicle price, power, the driver’s age and the number of years they have held a driving licence. Therefore, lockdown does not justify applying the article referred to in that way. It could only apply to policies whose pricing basis is the number of kilometres travelled.
Article 13 of the Insurance Contract Act
The policyholder or the insured may, during the term of the contract, inform the insurer of any circumstances that reduce the risk and are of such a nature that, had they been known by the insurer when the contract was concluded, it would have been entered into on more favourable terms.
In such a case, at the end of the current period covered by the premium, the amount of the future premium must be reduced in the corresponding proportion. Otherwise, the policyholder is entitled to terminate the contract and receive the difference between the premium paid and the premium that would have been payable from the time the risk reduction was notified.