Revision of the Federal Law on Insurance Contracts (LCA/VVG)

What will change for your supplemental insurance as of 1 January 2022?

The revision of the Federal Law on Insurance Contracts (LCA/VVG) aims to better protect policyholders by updating a law that is over 100 years old in order to meet today’s requirements.

1. Digital Communication

The new law specifically addresses online commerce (e-commerce) and aims to further strengthen the validity of electronic exchanges, in addition to the handwritten signature. In order for your request to be processed via a digital channel, while at the same time ensuring the protection of our policyholders' data, we must be able to formally identify you. This is the case when you communicate with us via a connection to your personal GMnet space and GMapp mobile app or via a verified email address.

2. Duration of the contract

In order to prevent you from having to pay for insurance that you no longer want, contracts can now be terminated after the third year. From the fourth year of the contract onwards, you can terminate your insurance at the end of each year. However, you must comply with a notice period of three months for such terminations.
The 2022 policies for supplemental health and accident insurance and legal insurance sent out in October 2021 already include this new rule.
In the case of supplemental health insurance, only the policyholder can terminate the contract.

A number of other features have been introduced to protect policyholders:

  • The information that the insurance company must provide to customers before the conclusion of the contract has been broadened.
  • As of 1 January 2022, the customer has a right of cancellation upon signature of the contract.

We have taken the opportunity of this legal revision to bring some minor improvements to the insurance coverage and the wording of certain special terms and conditions of insurance. These new terms and conditions of insurance apply to existing contracts, but will not change premium amounts.

FAQ

What are the main changes in the new LCA/VVG, effective 1 January 2022?

The purpose of the new edition of the LCA/VVG is to better take into account the trends in new technologies and e-commerce, by providing alternatives to written communications for exchanges between customers and their insurance company.

It also aims to better protect your interests by introducing:

a right of cancellation that can be exercised within 14 days of signing the insurance application;

the right to terminate the contract at the end of the third year of insurance.

Which contracts will be affected by the new LCA/VVG?

The new LCA/VVG will apply to insurance contracts signed or concluded online as of 1 January 2022 onwards.

Contracts signed or concluded online before 31 December 2021 will remain subject to the previous edition of the LCA/VVG, with the exception of the provisions specified in the next item.

Which provisions of the new LCA/VVG will apply to all contracts?

Three provisions of the new LCA/VVG will automatically apply to all contracts, including those contracts signed before 1 January 2022.

  • Reduction of the minimum affiliation period  

As of 1 January 2022, the minimum affiliation period will be three years. This means that you will have the right to terminate your contract at the end of the third year of insurance, even if you originally signed a contract for a minimum of five years or more. The expiry date of each insurance coverage in your 2022 policy has been changed accordingly.

There is no change for insurance plans that already provide for a minimum term of less than three years.

For life insurance, termination remains possible from the end of the first year of insurance.

  • New forms of communication

As of 1 January 2022, in addition to the written form with a handwritten signature, communications between you and your insurer may be sent by email to the relevant email addresses or via our digital platforms, GMnet and GMapp.

To be valid, your email requests shall be sent from an email address that has been checked by the insurance company and registered in your records, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Data Protection (LPD/DSG). If there is any doubt concerning the validity of your email address or your identity, Groupe Mutuel will contact you to make sure that you are the person sending the request.

For Groupe Mutuel life insurance policies, the written form with a handwritten signature is still required for certain communications, in particular when assigning or pledging a policy. 

  • Limitation period

Claims arising from the contract, such as premium and deductible amounts owed to the insurer, as well as any payments due to you, will become time-barred after five years as from 1 January 2022, instead of after two years.

This period also applies to claims that occurred before 1 January 2022, provided that they are not yet time-barred on 1 January 2022.

Because of the revision of the LCA/VVG, am I exceptionally allowed to terminate my insurance?

No, the revision of the LCA/VVG does not give you the right to exceptionally terminate your insurance.

I signed an LCA/VVG health insurance policy before 1 January 2022, but I have not yet reached the minimum insurance period of five years stipulated in your terms and conditions of insurance. Am I allowed to terminate my contract before the five-year period?

Yes, since the new minimum term of three years will apply to all contracts, including those signed before 1 January 2022, we will also apply the three-year term instead of five years in your case, taking into account the period of insurance that has already elapsed. 

The notice period has also been shortened to three months, instead of the six months provided for in the terms and conditions of insurance applicable to your contract.

I have signed an application for an LCA/VVG insurance policy, but would like to cancel it. What terms and conditions must I comply with?

As from 1 January 2022, you will have 14 days to exercise your right of cancellation.

This 14-day period begins on the date you sign your insurance application, or on the date of your confirmation if you conclude the contract online. The deadline is deemed to be met if you send the cancellation notice to the insurance company or post it on the last day of the deadline.

Before 1 January 2022, your insurance policies always mentioned the possibility for us to amend our information within four weeks. Why has this been removed from your new 2022 policies?

In the new LCA/VVG, Article 12 that provided for a four-week period for amending an incorrect policy, failing which it was considered accepted, has been deleted.

This change is part of the measures designed to protect the interests of insured persons and to allow the latter to amend an insurance policy if a mistake is found after the period of four weeks. Depending on the circumstances, we will examine each situation individually.

With the new 2022 LCA/VVG, how long do I have to send you a medical invoice for refund?

As of 1 January 2022, the time limit for claiming a benefit has been increased from two to five years.

I forgot to send you a medical invoice within the two-year period. Can I still have it covered under the new LCA/VVG?

This will depend on whether the end of the two-year deadline occurred before or after the new LCA/VVG came into force.

If the due date is before 1 January 2022, your invoice is definitively prescribed and can no longer be claimed.

If, on the other hand, the due date of two years had not yet been reached when the new LCA/VVG comes into force, the limitation period will be extended to five years under the new edition of the LCA/VVG.

My LCA/VVG insurance contracts were signed before 1 January 2022. Will I receive new terms and conditions of insurance?

No. Since only the contracts signed from 1 January 2022 onwards will be subject to the new LCA/VVG, the terms and conditions of insurance currently in your possession remain valid and will not be replaced.

This revision, which is beneficial to policyholders, was the opportunity to extend coverage or improve the clarity of the terms and conditions of insurance for the products. If you hold one or several of these insurance products, the changes will apply automatically to your policy and have no impact on your insurance premiums. No further action is required on your part.

The tables in the links below show the adjustments made.


Click on the following links to access the terms and conditions of insurance:

Groupe Mutuel

Rue des Cèdres 5 Case postale, 1919 Martigny    |    +41 0848.803.111

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