The foundations, functions and critique of the doctrine of interpretation against the insurer

Insurance contracts as any other contract may be subject to ambiguities which need to be interpreted and clarified. This interpretation is influenced by characteristics of this type of contracts. Insurance contracts are considered as accession contracts in which there exists inequality of negotiation power and therefore the insured has no alternative but to accept or reject the contract. Thus, commentators and courts try to make good this shortcoming. Accordingly, should the traditional methods of interpretation do not give in any result, then the secondary methods may be appealed which originate from common law. This article as the first analysis of interpretation against the insurer as a secondary means consideres in detail.