When we talk about contracting auto coverage policies, the first law we think of is the Insurance Law and all its complementary regulations. However, in some cases the application of the Consumer Protection Law.
In Argentina, the National Traffic and Road Safety Law (24,449) provides that the contracting of insurance is mandatory to be able to circulate with a vehicle.
For this reason, each owner or user of a vehicle must have a contract that will be governed by the Insurance Law and the National Civil and Commercial Code. Although in some cases another law could apply as a complement or as an axis of interpretation, which is 24,240 (Consumer Defense).
It is always important to keep in mind that the Insurance Law will be the one that, in principle, will govern the relationships between insurance companies and their insured. But this is not always the case.
For example, when one of the parties is a final recipient The Consumer Protection Law will become relevant so that it can be applied in conjunction with specific insurance regulations.
Clear rules
On some occasions, contracts entered into between companies and their policyholders lead to conflicts and claims; For example, when a client considers that no one explained the consequences of having chosen between several coverage options.
In those cases the claim could be based on the application of the Article 4 of the Consumer Protection Lawwhich indicates that “the supplier is obliged to provide the consumer in a true, clear and detailed manner everything related to the essential characteristics of the goods and services it provides, and the conditions of their commercialization.”
This could occur in cases where the policies contain very technical clauses and it may be necessary to provide additional, clearer information so that policyholders can have greater understanding when choosing between one type of coverage and another.
The Law establishes that information must always be free for the consumer and provided in physical format, with the necessary clarity to allow it to be understood. Communication on physical media may only be supplanted if the consumer or user expressly chooses to use any other alternative means of communication that the provider makes available.
Therefore, it is important to know if the insured is a final consumer under the terms of the Consumer Protection Law. This is decisive, since said law would not apply if it were a commercial insured.
In conclusion, to know if the Insurance Law, the Consumer Protection Law or both will be applied, we will have to analyze first. who are those involved with special focus on whether any of the people could be considered a consumer or user within the meaning of law 24,240.
It is also important to determine the issue on which the claim is based to see if it is covered by one law or the other.
Without prejudice to what has been said, we must keep in mind that this round of laws will continue because it is an issue that both in legal doctrine and in the different judges and courts generates many discussions and confrontations.
It is made clear that the specific case must always be evaluated and this note does not imply advice on the specific situation but rather general guidelines.
