Facts
X, the partner of the deceased Y, claimed the lump-sum death benefit from the pension insurance of her deceased partner. However, the pension institution BAV-Wirte denied its obligation to pay and declared the retroactive dissolution of the insurance, as Y allegedly did not correctly answer the question about his state of health in the application form.
X then filed a lawsuit with the Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich, which dismissed her claim. X then filed an administrative court appeal with the Federal Insurance Court.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court came to the following conclusion
- The pension contract between Y and BAV-Wirte was not concluded with the sending of the registration form on May 28, 1985, but only with the confirmation letter from BAV-Wirte dated June 18, 1985.
- Although the statutes and regulations of BAV-Wirte do not contain any provisions on the breach of the duty to notify, this is to be assessed analogously according to the rules of the Insurance Contract Act (VVG).
- While Y was entitled to answer the question about his state of health in good faith on May 28, 1985, as he was considered healthy and able to work at that time, he should have immediately notified BAV-Wirte of the deterioration of his state of health, which…