INSURANCE POOLS: FOLLOWERS OF CLASSICAL INSURANCE CONTRACTS IN THE FIELD OF NUCLEAR LAW
INSURANCE POOLS: FOLLOWERS OF CLASSICAL INSURANCE CONTRACTS IN THE FIELD OF NUCLEAR LAW

Summary/Abstract: Insurance contracts are almost the exclusive instrument for providing coverage for damage in all the areas. The insurance industry is the proper and experienced partner in providing liability coverage. However, its capacity is not unlimited, regarding neither the extent nor the size of coverage. There are risks of specific type that often differ from other risks, such as the risk of peaceful usage of nuclear energy. From an insurer’s point of view, certain forms of damage are not calculable, for example damage to the environment or damage which becomes evident later than ten years after the incident. Furthermore, the potential magnitude of nuclear damage is a major challenge for the insurance industry. Claim handling expenses are an additional cost factor in case of a major nuclear accident involving thousands of claimants. National insurance companies have to pool their capacities at international level, and reinsurance is necessary. The purpose of this paper is, on the one hand, to analyze how the classical insurance contract has grown into a new modern institute of the insurance law and, on the other hand, to research the legal nature of this institute (insurance pool) and its implementation in practice, particularly in the field of nuclear risk insurance and coverage of nuclear damages. The need to insure larger funds in nuclear insurance are initiated by the changes concerning the international legal instrument that regulated the matter on nuclear damage compensation, which have broaden the concept of compensable damage and concurrently established significantly increased minimum liability amounts. Insurance pools are a response to the need to cater for these changes.

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