Mateusz Kosiorowski | In Principle

In May 2024, the Polish Chamber of Insurance and the Polish Bank Association jointly issued Good Practice Guidelines on Credit Protection Insurance, with oversight of the financial regulator. The guidelines address a number of key issues, from creation of CPI products, to marketing, distribution, and monitoring of compliance.

Guidance from the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority of 25 March 2024 on certain aspects of outsourcing by insurers and reinsurers also covers collection proceedings related to performance of insurance contracts. Insurers offering trade credit for which collections are carried out by external providers must verify whether this outsourcing is compliant with the regulator’s position.

On 26 June 2023, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) adopted the new Recommendation U on good bancassurance practices, which will replace the previous Recommendation U of June 2014.

As of 17 June 2022, insurance companies in Poland have been given effective tools for assessing insurance risks in the form of access to information on fines and penalty points. Analysis of this additional data may prompt insurers to raise premiums for some drivers.

According to Polish and EU law, performance of certain services requires civil liability insurance. Such an obligation is imposed on entities performing healthcare activities, for which Polish law has specified the minimum amount of coverage. Can such coverage be exhausted by a medical loss?

Many citizens of Ukraine are entering Poland by car, raising questions about insurance, the “Green Card,” and other issues. Below are some key clarifications.

 

The scope of the insured’s liability (and thus, the insurance companies’ auxiliary liability) is affected not only by national law, but also by EU legislation and case law regarding “use of a motor vehicle.” After a recent Supreme Court resolution, a contradiction between the two has emerged.

Autonomous cars are slowly becoming a reality, accompanied by logistical, technological and legal barriers. The Polish parliament has already made some initial legislative steps by introducing, for example, a definition of an autonomous motor vehicle and a procedure for testing such vehicles on public roads. However, there is a need for further statutory regulation of insurance products and insurance companies tasked with providing compulsory third-party liability protection in a situation of great uncertainty and legal gaps.

Even before a state of epidemic threat was announced, some businesses anticipating the probable impact of the approaching pandemic decided to take out business interruption insurance. But can this type of coverage make up for at least some of the losses due to the pandemic?

The state’s enforcement of epidemiological restrictions (commands and prohibitions), despite many doubts as to their constitutionality, currently constitutes lawful exercise of public authority. Nonetheless, even actions by the state with the blessing of the law may entail a risk of COVID-19 infection for doctors, nurses, police and others. Serious detriment to their health—or even death—as a result of infection may give rise to liability on the part of the State Treasury under the principle of equity.

Declaration of a state of epidemiological threat and then a state of epidemic, and other legal acts, entails not only introduction of commands and prohibitions in everyday and professional life but also various types of restrictions on business operations. Doctors may be directed to work in hospitals for infectious diseases. Businesses are saddled with new restrictions causing them to generate significant losses. Can damages be sought from the State Treasury due to these restrictions?