Call For Papers: Beyond Insurance –The Wider Angle Viewpoint

This volume of the AIDA Europe Research Series on Insurance Law and Regulation examines the impact of and interplay between human rights and insurance.

National, supranational and international legal instruments regulating the taking-up and pursuit of the business of insurance and reinsurance, (re)insurance distribution and the insurance contract often refer to or impact on human or fundamental rights. Courts are often faced with the sometimes seemingly impossible task of reconciling insurance core principles, practices and mind-sets with the principles and values stemming from human rights protection. In some cases, such as that of discrimination in insurance, this discussion has been going on for decades. Some deal with hot topics which have more recently emerged in light of developments stemming from technologic innovations (‘InsurTech’).

The first part of this truly global book focuses on insurance and the right to equal treatment, putting together three contributions from three different particularly trailblazing jurisdictions in the field. The first chapter aims to shed a more general light on the issue of discrimination bans in insurance, addressing discrimination on the basis of factors such as gender, age or disability, from the perspective of European Law. The second chapter focuses on discrimination in the context of parametric insurance, and on the delicate balance being attempted by the industry in the protection of dignity, equality and the right to privacy, seen from the perspective of South African Law. The third chapter addresses gender discrimination in insurance in Canada.

The second part of the book highlights the very relevant role played by insurance in the upholding of the right to health. The fourth chapter of the book addresses reinsurance as a human right, putting forward the case for a core health right to state performance of the reinsurance function. Whilst it is written from the perspective of United States Law, it also touches upon the precursor roles to this idea found in such different parts of the world as Thailand, Uganda, China, the Philippines and India. The fifth chapter in the book tackles the role of cooperatives and mutual health organizations in the extension of non-discriminatory universal health insurance in Africa.

The third part of the book explores InsurTech’s manifold challenges upon the right to privacy, focusing on the European Union. Chapter six addresses the ethical and legal challenges resulting from new information and communication technologies and the collection and usage of massive amounts of data, particularly in the context of autonomous vehicles. Chapter seven is devoted to the delicate issue of the processing of personal data, especially health data, by insurers since the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation.

The fourth and final part of the book analyses the threat posed by insurance on the right to life. The contributions comes from Saudi Arabia but has a particular focus on the United Kingdom.

Written by legal scholars and practitioners, the book offers international, comparative and regional or national perspectives, aiming to contribute to a more thorough and systematic understanding of the interactions between these two very different fields of law, providing the industry as well as the scientific community with insights from both sides of this seemingly difficult to transpose divide.

April 2021

Lisbon, Portugal                                                                                Margarida Lima Rego

Pretoria, South Africa                                                                                  Birgit Kuschke

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