Published on December 10, 2024, Law No. 15,040 represents the most significant regulatory advancement in the insurance sector in recent decades. The standard creates its own microsystem to regulate security contracts, repealing the provisions of the Civil Code and Decree-Law No. 73/1966. Its entry into force, scheduled for December 11, 2025, provides a fundamental transition period for insurers and policyholders to review their policies and contractual practices.
According to the National Confederation of Insurers (CNseg), the market generated 385 billion reais in premiums in 2024, which represents around 6% of the national gross domestic product (GDP). With such economic relevance, the new law seeks to reduce disputes and increase the predictability of security relations through the standardization of concepts, deadlines and duties of the parties.
Law No. 15,040/2024 updates the rules relating to the duty of information of the insured and the stipulator. The text confirms that the acceptance of the proposal and the calculation of the premium depend on the information provided in the questionnaire prepared by the insurer, the instrument used to assess the risk.
Completing the questionnaires used to take out insurance can present practical difficulties. In some cases, insurance companies adopt forms with broad or generic questions, which may raise doubts about the correct way to answer them. In these cases, there may be a difference of interpretation as to the sufficiency of the information provided.
The new law establishes detailed criteria for analyzing possible omissions in the provision of data. When a deliberate intention to omit relevant information is noted, the insured loses the right to coverage and remains responsible for paying the premium and the insurer’s costs. In cases where the omission is not due to bad faith, the compensation may be adjusted proportionally, taking into account the difference between the premium actually paid and that which would have been due if all the information had been provided correctly.
The new Law 15,040/2024 also provides for policyholders to be informed in advance of all contract conditions, correcting old practices whereby policies were signed without full knowledge of their clauses. The standard requires the insurer to provide essential information, such as coverages, exclusions, deductibles and contractor obligations, thus ensuring full knowledge of what is contracted, whether by a natural or legal person. Even when the Consumer Protection Code does not apply, as in certain corporate and large risks insurance, Law 15.040/2024 already provides its own guarantees of transparency and contractual balance.
Law No. 15,040/2024 also regulates the deadlines and procedures related to the analysis of claims and the payment of compensation. Insurers must declare the existence of cover within 30 days of notification of the loss, provided that all necessary documents have been submitted. Failure to comply with this deadline results in loss of the right to refuse coverage.
The documents required for the analysis must be expressly indicated in the policy. If the insurer requires additional information, it may request additional documents in a justified manner. In this case, the 30-day period will be suspended, resuming counting from the delivery of the requested documents.
In the event of total or partial refusal of coverage, the insurer must make available to the insured the documents which served as the basis for the decision, so that he or she has access to the reasons given. The refusal must be expressed and justified and its reasons cannot be modified subsequently, except when new facts arise which were not known to the insurer at the time of the initial decision.
According to lawyer Marcelo G. Nunes, specialist in insurance law and partner at Nunes Advogados, the new law corrects a recurring practice in the sector, in which insurance companies did not clearly present the reasons and documents that justified the denial of coverage, starting to introduce new justifications only after the start of legal action. “The law transforms the regulations into a binding framework. What has been declared and practiced cannot be modified in court, except in the event of a new fact, which it is up to the insurance company to prove,” he asserts.
The normative text also modifies the starting point of the limitation period for the exercise of the right of action. The period ceases to count from the date of the accident and runs from the date of the insurer’s express and reasoned refusal. The period only begins to run when the insured is formally informed of the decision, setting the starting point for counting the limitation periods.
Furthermore, the law provides that the limitation period relating to compensation can be suspended only once, if the insured submits a request for review to the insurer. The suspension ends when the interested party is informed of the final decision.
The Superintendence of Private Insurance (SUSEP) https://www.gov.br/susep/, linked to the Ministry of Finance, will play a central role in the effective implementation of Law 15,040/2024. The body must issue additional rules which detail the transition between the current regime and the new regulatory framework. In 2025, the authority has already announced that the regulation of insurance contract law is one of the priorities of its regulatory plan.
For CNseg, the modernization brings Brazil into compliance with international best practices and builds trust in security relationships.
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