Escape of water: where must the water come from?
Escape-of-water cover generally depends on water leaving supply or drainage pipes or connected equipment. The proven cause matters, not merely the presence of water.
Official RIS decision →Case law
Austrian Supreme Court decisions explained clearly.
Verified Supreme Court decisions covering the main private insurance lines.
Home and contents
Home and contents
Selected verified decisions with practical context.
Escape of water: definition and direct effect
The Court focused on the policy definition of escape of water and its direct effect on insured property. Pipe damage, consequential loss and excluded causes must be distinguished.
Official RIS decision →Burglary without clear traces
Although proof may be eased in burglary claims, the circumstances must still make an insured burglary probable. Locks, keys, traces and prompt documentation may be decisive.
Official RIS decision →Underinsurance: floor area alone may not be sufficient
The Court considered a settlement method based solely on a floor-area aid. Valuation method, sum insured and any underinsurance waiver must fit together.
Official RIS decision →Replacement value and reinstatement
Under a reinstatement clause, full replacement-value payment may depend on actual rebuilding or sufficiently secured reinstatement.
Official RIS decision →Gross negligence in property insurance
Gross negligence requires particularly careless conduct. Any reduction or refusal depends on the facts and the policy wording.
Official RIS decision →Personal accident
Personal accident
Selected verified decisions with practical context.
15-month deadline for permanent disability
Where such a deadline is agreed, possible permanent disability must be claimed and medically supported in time. The period generally starts on the accident date.
Official RIS decision →When is disability permanent?
Permanent disability requires a lifelong impairment or a medically supported prognosis that it will probably remain for life. The relevant assessment date matters.
Official RIS decision →Temporary or permanent impairment
Policy terms distinguish temporary from lifelong impairment. The long-term prognosis is central to capital or pension benefits.
Official RIS decision →Reassessment within the contractual period
A different degree of disability is considered only if reassessment is requested within the contractual period. Deadline management is therefore essential.
Official RIS decision →What qualifies as an accident?
The Court examined whether an external event and resulting injury met the contractual accident definition. A suddenly noticed complaint is not automatically an insured accident.
Official RIS decision →Daily allowance and occupational incapacity
For an agreed daily allowance, the relevant occupation or activity against which complete incapacity is measured depends on the exact policy wording.
Official RIS decision →Legal expenses
Legal expenses
Selected verified decisions with practical context.
When does a legal-expenses event begin?
The decisive event is usually the first alleged breach of a legal duty, not the later lawyer’s letter or court action. Cover purchased afterwards may therefore be too late.
Official RIS decision →The opponent’s allegations may be decisive
Coverage may depend on the facts and legal basis alleged by the opponent. The insured event is not determined solely by the policyholder’s own legal view.
Official RIS decision →Late notification and exclusion periods
The Court distinguished limitation periods, contractual exclusion periods and late knowledge. Legal-expenses matters should be reported promptly and placed accurately in time.
Official RIS decision →Motor insurance
Motor insurance
Selected verified decisions with practical context.
Is every paint scratch a comprehensive-insurance accident?
The actual sequence, a sudden external impact and the contractual accident definition are decisive. Calling an event an “accident” in everyday language is not enough.
Official RIS decision →Vehicle theft and eased burden of proof
A typical sequence, such as properly parking a vehicle and later finding it missing, may initially support proof of theft, but contradictions and counter-indications remain relevant.
Official RIS decision →Leaving an accident scene and duties to cooperate
Leaving the scene may breach contractual duties to clarify the event. This can have insurance consequences even if the criminal-law assessment differs.
Official RIS decision →Occupational disability
Occupational disability
Selected verified decisions with practical context.
Purpose of occupational disability insurance
Occupational disability insurance is intended to prevent social decline when occupational capacity is lost prematurely. The occupation actually performed most recently is decisive.
Official RIS decision →Benefit without proof of a specific financial loss
Occupational disability cover is a fixed-benefit insurance. Once the contractual insured event occurs, the agreed benefit does not depend on proof of a specific income loss.
Official RIS decision →Referral to another occupation
Referral requires an occupation sufficiently comparable in training, experience, social status and income. A broad job title alone is not enough.
Official RIS decision →Retirement provision
Retirement provision
Selected verified decisions with practical context.
Surrender values must be transparent
A mere reference to a tariff may be insufficient to explain surrender values. Costs, long-term effects and early termination must be understandable.
Official RIS decision →Unit-linked life insurance and policy terms
The Court reviewed terms of a unit-linked life policy. Costs, investment risk, policy changes and surrender values are central to long-term provision.
Official RIS decision →When is a traditional life policy due?
The obligation to pay is linked to the agreed event, such as maturity or death. Policy type, beneficiary rights and due date must be considered separately.
Official RIS decision →Travel insurance
Travel insurance
Selected verified decisions with practical context.
Trip interruption and medical confirmation
Policy terms may require illness or inability to travel to be confirmed immediately by a doctor. Documentation at the destination can therefore be decisive.
Official RIS decision →Transparency in cancellation and travel insurance
Documents must make clear with whom the insurance contract is concluded and what benefit is agreed. Unclear roles of intermediary and insurer may be legally problematic.
Official RIS decision →Deadlines and evidence in travel claims
The Court considered contractual evidence and deadlines in cancellation or trip-interruption claims. Prompt notification and medical records are particularly important.
Official RIS decision →Important note
The summaries do not replace individual review.
The full judgment, the individual policy and the facts remain decisive.