2.2 Insurance company, policy-holder, and assured
The insurance contract is a three part relationship based on a distinction between the person effecting the insurance and the person that is entitled to compensation when the insured event occurs. The parties to the insurance contract is the policy-holder, which is the party who enters into the contract with the company,(1) ICA § 2-2 letter a, NP Cl. 1-1 letter b, Bull, Forsikringsrett, 2008 (Bull 2008), p. 91, Wilhelmsen/Bull p. 44. The Norwegian terminology is «the person effecting the insurance», but here «policy holder» is used because this is the UK terminology. and the company, which is the party who in the contract undertakes to provide insurance.(2) NP Cl. 1-1 letter a, Bull 2008 p. 91, Wilhelmsen/Bull p. 36. The party who according to the insurance contract will be entitled to indemnity or an insured amount is called the insured party or the assured.(3) ICA § 2-2 letter b, NP Cl. 1-1 letter c, Bull p. 91, Wilhelmsen/Bull p. 45.
In many cases, the policy-holder and the assured is the same person: the owner of a house or a car insures the object and will be entitled to compensation when the house or car is damaged. The distinction between the policy holder and the assured makes it, however, possible to let one insurance contract be issued to the benefit of more parties than the policy-holder. Typically, this will be the situation where the economic interest in the insured object is divided between several people, for instance several owners (spouses owning a house together or co-owners of a vessel) or an owner and mortgagee of a house or entity.(4) Bull 2008 p. 92. In such cases, both the policy holder, and the co-owner, mortgagee or a person in possession of another economic interest in the insured object, will be entitled to compensation according to their economic interest. The term “assured” thus comprises both the “assured” as the “principal” assured and the co-insured.(5) See Bull 2008 s. 92, Commentary NP 2019 to Chapter 8 Co-insurance of third Parties, General, Chapter 8 - NordicPlan, stating that “The term 'the assured' is defined in Cl. 1-1 litra (c) to make room for others than the 'principal assured' to be included as assureds under the insurance contract. This is done by making use of the concept of co-insurance”, Wilhelmsen/Bull p. 45-46.