LEGAL DILEMMAS REGARDING THE METHODS OF CONCLUDING DISTANCE INSURANCE CONTRACTS – VIA A MOBILE APPLICATION AND A WEBSITE

In this paper, the author states that there are two dilemmas in practice regarding the conclusion of distance insurance contracts via mobile applications and websites as a remote communication means. The first dilemma refers to the use of a double authentication as a method of concluding distance insurance contracts, while the second one concerns the permissibility of using the insurance premium payment as a method of concluding distance contracts. The author deals with both dilemmas with a functional and systemic interpretation of the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Financial Service Users in Distance Contracts and the Law of Contracts and Torts. The author concludes that a deviation from the written form of a contract is permitted, in the sense that a policyholder’s double authentication is sufficient for the conclusion of a contract, and that a qualified electronic signature of the other contracting party is not required when the contract is concluded via a mobile application and a websi- te of an insurer or a distributor. In addition, the author concludes that the insurance premium payment is an adequate method of concluding a distance contract. Finally, the author tries to provide criteria for establishing the relation between concluding a distance contract via a double authentication and the premium payment, noting that these two methods are not mutually exclusive, but complement each other.

Keywords: insurance contract, distance contract, premium payment, double authentication, methods of concluding insurance contracts