Towards the harmonisation of European insurance law

Peter Mansfield, partner at law firm CMS Cameron McKenna LLP, discusses PEICL, the Principles of European Insurance Contract Law, and assesses their likely impact on insurance practice

The next few years have the potential to revolutionise insurance law and, as a result, the insurance industry in the UK. The winds of change are blowing. Indeed, it is no longer a question of whether there will be change, because there will be. The issue is what form that change will take and how extensive it will be. Some of the pressures for reform are internal, primarily from the Law Commission. However, the greatest pressure is from Europe and this article focuses on the latest proposals from Brussels.