Right of withdrawal from unitlinked life insurance successfully enforced against SwissLife Liechtenstein

The Princely Regional Court has ruled for the first time that policyholders have a perpetual right of withdrawal in accordance with Art 65 VersVG (Liechtenstein Insurance Contract Act) if they have not been duly informed about the right of withdrawal.

Art 65 VersVG in its corresponding version provided for a right of withdrawal by the policyholder within one month of the conclusion of the contract.

In the insurance documents, the 14-day withdrawal period legally valid at the time of application was incorrectly indicated, whereas at the time of acceptance of the policy by sending it to the policyholder, the 1-month withdrawal period applied in any case.

The Princely Regional Court made it clear that the conclusion of a life insurance contract requires acceptance, which would regularly be perfected by sending the policy. After the change in the legal situation had been sufficiently announced in advance, it would have been possible for the insurance company to easily adapt the withdrawal instruction in the insurance documents accordingly.

The decision is not yet legally binding.