Supreme Court decides on ambiguous clauses in general insurance terms. The Federal Supreme Court recently issued a decision(1) on the rule of ambiguity in the context of the interpretation of general insurance terms. The court found that a provision which excludes accidents as a result of the deliberate causation of a crime or offence is neither considered unusual nor ambiguous, and can therefore be validly be relied upon by the insurer.

General insurance terms integral to insurance agreement. In a recent decision the Federal Supreme Court held that general terms and conditions can be included in an insurance contract, even if the application makes no reference to the date of the terms and conditions and it remains unclear which version is applicable.

Insurance fraud through omission – qualified duty to act required. In a recently published decision the Federal Supreme Court quashed a criminal verdict of the Supreme Court of the Canton of Basel-Country and held that insurance fraud by omission requires a qualified duty of the perpetrator to act.