Warranty Law in Georgian Law: The Real Institutions
The notion of warranty carries a broad meaning in international practice, so clarity is needed from the outset: the Civil Code of Georgia contains no separate warranty statute for payments following personal injury, of the kind widespread in the guarantee-product markets of other jurisdictions. The real instruments of Georgian law in this field are two: the insurance contract, and the contract of guarantee as a general contractual institution. From the position of an injured person, insurance is most often decisive: a policy for accident, health or life insurance determines in advance who, when and on what conditions pays compensation for the damage. This page explains claims built precisely on these real mechanisms.
The Insurance Contract and the Insurer's Duty to Pay
The core of the insurance contract is formulated in Article 799 of the Civil Code: by an insurance contract the insurer must compensate the insured for the damage caused by the occurrence of the insured event, in accordance with the terms of the contract. In insurance for a firmly fixed insurance sum, the insurer must pay the insurance sum or perform another promised act. The insured, for its part, is obliged to pay the insurance contribution, the premium. These two obligations together create the equilibrium on which a policy stands: in exchange for the premium, the insurer is answerable for payment when the insured event occurs, while the form and amount of payment are determined by the terms of the contract.
At the same time, the Code separately notes that a derivative is not an insurance contract, and relationships connected with derivatives are regulated by a special law. This distinction is practical: if a document bears the features of a financial instrument, the rules of insurance no longer extend to it, and the basis of the injured person's claims shifts to a different regime.
Accident Insurance and Conclusion for the Benefit of Another Person
Accident insurance is a flexible construction. Under Article 854 of the Civil Code, an accident insurance contract may be concluded both for the accident of the policyholder and for the accident of another person. This means that a policy may have a beneficiary outside the contract: a family member, an employee or another person whose accident is covered. Moreover, where the insurance contract is concluded not by the insured person but for their benefit, the rules on life insurance apply to it. This technical detail changes the conditions of payment and must be taken into account in advance when a policy is purchased.
In disputes connected with damage to health, the allocation of the burden of proof matters. Article 855 of the Civil Code provides: where the insurer's obligation depends on the intentional infliction of damage to health, the absence of intent is presumed until the contrary is proven. This presumption works in favour of the insured person and the beneficiary: an insurer that refuses payment on the assumption that the damage was intentional must prove this circumstance itself. In practice this means that the holder of a policy should have ready a description of the actual circumstances of the injury and the medical documentation, so that the version of intent loses substance at an early stage.
The Duty to Notify of an Accident
Receiving payment requires organised action. Under Article 857 of the Civil Code, where obligations are to be performed for the benefit of a beneficiary, that person must declare the occurrence of the accident. This rule also extends to the duties of notifying information and handing over documents. The practical conclusion: immediately after an accident is recorded, the beneficiary should begin communication with the insurer and submit all requested documents in good time, because breaching the notification duties complicates the payment process and becomes the subject of dispute.
The Limit on Regression and Health Insurance
The relationships following payment are also ordered. Under Article 858 of the Civil Code, the policyholder has no right of regression against the person who is answerable for the damage. This norm means that the mechanism of payment under a policy and the mechanism of liability of the person causing the damage are kept apart: payment under the policy does not automatically replace the right to claim from the person responsible for the damage. A separate rule concerns health insurance: under the corresponding norm of the Code, only a narrow circle of the rules of damage insurance, defined by the Code, extends to health insurance. Therefore, when purchasing a health policy and submitting a claim, the exact type of the policy is decisive: accident insurance and health insurance operate in different regimes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the insurance contract?
The insurer’s duty to compensate the policyholder for damage caused by the occurrence of the insured event under the terms of the contract; the policyholder pays the premium. A derivative is not an insurance contract.
May accident insurance be taken for another person?
Yes — for the policyholder’s or another person’s accident; where concluded by another in favour of the insured, the rules on life insurance apply.
Who must declare the accident?
The person receiving the benefit is obliged to declare it; the rule extends to notifying information and handing over documents.
Has the policyholder a right of recourse?
No — no recourse lies against the person answerable for the damage.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Our team fully analyses protection through insurance and guarantee mechanisms: we determine which instrument fits your situation, examine the terms of the policy with respect to the duty to pay, the insured event and the beneficiary, prepare the notification and the claim correspondence with the insurer, and represent you in a dispute where payment is refused or delayed. Contact our specialists so that your financial protection after an injury rests on the correct legal foundation.