Case C-209/12: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 19 December 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof (Germany)) — Walter Endress v Allianz Lebensversicherungs AG (Request for a preliminary ruling — Directives 90/619/EEC and 92/96/EEC — Direct life assurance — Right of cancellation — Lack of information on the conditions governing the exercise of that right — Expiry of the cancellation period one year after payment of the first premium — Conformity with Directives 90/619/EEC and 92/96/EEC)
Date: 2013-12-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU law - national law, consumer information, insurance contract, life assurance








C_2014052EN.01001002.xml










22.2.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 52/10





Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 19 December 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof (Germany)) — Walter Endress v Allianz Lebensversicherungs AG
(Case C-209/12) (1)

(Request for a preliminary ruling - Directives 90/619/EEC and 92/96/EEC - Direct life assurance - Right of cancellation - Lack of information on the conditions governing the exercise of that right - Expiry of the cancellation period one year after payment of the first premium - Conformity with Directives 90/619/EEC and 92/96/EEC)
2014/C 52/15
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Walter Endress

Defendant: Allianz Lebensversicherungs AG

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Bundesgerichtshof — Interpretation of the first indent of Article 15(1) of Council Directive 90/619/EEC of 8 November 1990 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct life assurance, laying down provisions to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to provide services and amending Directive 79/267/EEC (OJ 1990 L 330, p. 50), in conjunction with Article 31(1) of Council Directive 92/96/EEC of 10 November 1992 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct life assurance and amending Directives 79/267/EEC and 90/619/EEC (OJ 1992 L 360, p. 1) — Annuity — Right of cancellation of the policy-holder — Time-limit — Obligation to provide the policy-holder with information — National legislation under which the policy-holder loses the right of cancellation one year after payment of the first premium even if he has not been correctly informed of the conditions of exercising the right.

Operative part of the judgment

Article 15(1) of Council Directive 90/619/EEC of 8 November 1990 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct life assurance, laying down provisions to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to provide services and amending Directive 79/267/EEC, as amended by Council Directive 92/96/EEC of 10 November 1992, read in conjunction with Article 31 of the latter directive, must be interpreted as precluding a national provision, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which a right of cancellation lapses one year at the latest after payment of the first premium, where the policy-holder has not been informed about the right of cancellation.


(1)  OJ C 200, 7.7.2012.