An obligation to inform is a legal clause which requires one party (a service provider, for example) to provide certain information to another party. Obligations to inform are often found in asset management and insurance contracts.
Financial services providers like financial advisors and asset managers are obliged to inform customers about their field of expertise and how they are regulated. Other key information includes possible investment risks and whether or not any third parties have economic interest in connection with the services being offered. The Swiss Federal Financial Services Act clearly lists the kinds of information which fall under the obligation to inform.
If a financial services provider deliberately provides incorrect information or withholds key facts, they can be fined up to 100,000 Swiss francs.
Insurance companies are also required to share a range of information with customers before granting insurance. This includes, for example, the insured risks, the insurance term and suspension of the contract, and the right to withdraw. The exact details which insurance providers are obliged to provide you with are laid out in the Insurance Policies Act.
With insurance, a failure to meet the obligation to inform provides grounds for an irregular termination of an insurance agreement. You have the right to suspend your insurance contract within four weeks if you find out that your insurance has failed to meet this obligation. The notice applies with immediate effect as soon as the insurer receives it. This right to an irregular termination expires two years after the failure occurs.
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