The Jean Monnet Module on EU Insurance Law: Challenges in the SDG Era (EUInsLSDG)
The need for advanced academic training in insurance was widely felt and identified both by academics and representatives of the industry across Europe and the world.
The Jean Monnet Module on EU Insurance Law: Challenges in the SDG Era (EUInsLSDG) aimed to fill two gaps: by providing advanced training to prepare the next generation of top-qualified legal professionals in insurance, ready to enter the market equipped with the instruments to face the challenges of our time, as well as preparing early-stage researchers by encouraging state-of-the-art academic research in this field in those areas where both regulators and the regulated required research outputs that would help them substantiate future decisions.
The module also sought to raise awareness of the potential of the insurance sector to contribute decisively to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Coordinators
Margarida Lima Rego
María del Val Bolívar Oñoro
Members
Claire Bright
Soraya Nour Sckell
Fabrizio Esposito
Joana Campos Carvalho
Martinho Lucas Pires
Maria Elisabete Ramos
Vítor Boaventura Xavier
Results and Objectives of the Module
1. Master’s Course on EU Insurance Law within the Master's in Law and Financial Markets of NOVA School of Law, entirely taught in English, between September and February of 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Upon completion of the course, students developed an understanding of the following:
- the basics of insurance: what it is for and how it works;
- the origins of insurance;
- the socio-economic relevance of insurance;
- how to draft and interpret an insurance contract;
- the EU’s role in the regulation of the insurance business and in shaping insurance contract law;
- how to identify red flags and incorporate best practices on insurance’s role in furthering Human Rights and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in the framework of the EU’s aims and values, as laid out in article 3 of the Lisbon Treaty.
The module also enabled students to identify needs in the field of insurance, as well as to recognise the most effective ways to enter the market and respond to those needs. Students were also able to understand the to understand the main public policy concerns underlying the regulation of insurance in the European Union and to develop the ability to analyse and solve hypothetical legal problems in this area, from the perspective of EU Insurance Law.
Through this process, students acquired key knowledge of EU Insurance Law: the specific grounds sustaining EU legislation on insurance law matters; EU regulation of the business of insurance and reinsurance; EU regulation of insurance distribution; EU regulation of specific classes of insurance; non-insurance-specific EU legislation relevant to insurance; and main insurance-specific ECJ case law.
This short course aimed to:
- Encourage reflection on the EU values on Human Rights.
- Focus on the EU approach and contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Look into how Human Rights works in the field of EU Law: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the ECJ case law.
- Shed light on the relationship between the Sustainable Development Goals and the Human Rights in the EU context.
- Provide an in-depth analysis of the links between human rights and insurance.
- Provide an in-depth analysis of the insurance sector’s current and potential contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Foster dialogue between students/legal professionals coming from different backgrounds and countries.
- Foster dialogue between students and third parties (NGOs, insurance and reinsurance companies and intermediaries, regulators, other relevant stakeholders).
- Promote critical thinking on the Sustainable Development Goals and the EU as a Human Rights Global Actor.
This e-course included teaching staff from NOVA and other higher education institutions across Europe. There were also one or more sessions with guest speakers from the professional world, which were designed to give students the opportunity to hear first-hand experiences from a wide range of stakeholders.
3. Annual Conferences in July of 2023, 2024 and 2025
Finally, this Module included a series of Annual Conferences on the overarching topic of EU Insurance Law: Challenges in the SDG Era, held in July of each year. With the organisational support of AIDA Portugal and AIDA Europe, as well as the module’s Erasmus+ funding, we were able to host keynote speakers from all over the world. These speakers discussed various topics with a view to taking an active role in preparing, discussing, and disseminating data-based public policy recommendations that contribute to the furthering of the SDGs.
Each December, a call for abstracts was published in preparation for the following year’s July conference. The authors of the best student discussion papers produced on the EU Insurance Law course were also invited to present their work at these annual conferences.
Courses
E-Course Insurance and Sustainable Development Goals: SDG reporting of Insurance Companies | 2025 Edition
On this course, students developed an understanding of the different SDG reporting systems available for insurance companies, as well as the ability to assess whether these systems are voluntary or compulsory and how they are interact with EU Insurance Law and Human Rights.
During each session, students worked on a case study. By the end of the e‑course, they could identify potential threats and opportunities for the SDGs in insurance markets. They were also prepared to respond quickly to potential threats, using an EU law and human rights-based approach.
Given the facts of a legal problem relating to insurance, SDGs, EU Insurance Law and Human Rights, students were also able to communicate the solution to the wider public, including a wide range of stakeholders.
E-Course: Insurance and Sustainable Development Goals – The intersection between the ESG and the SDGs | 2024 Edition
This e-course provided participants with an understanding of the differences and similarities between the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors, as well as their interplay in the specific context of the insurance market. The core of the course was how these concerns interacted with EU Insurance and Human Rights Law.
Participants learned to identify potential threats and opportunities for the SDGs and ESG factors in the insurance market. They were also prepared to respond quickly to threats using an EU Insurance and Human Rights Law-based approach.
Given the facts of a legal problem relating to insurance, the SDGs, ESG factors, EU Insurance Law and Human Rights, participants were also able to transfer the solution to a wider audience, including a wide range of stakeholders. They could also understand and interpret corporate narratives that incorporate ESG and SDG concepts and concerns, in compliance with EU Insurance and Human Rights law.
MOOC Insurance and SDG | Until 04 July 2024
This e-course offered the opportunity to learn how the insurance sector can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by attending lectures on the different SDGs delivered by top professionals.
E-Course: Insurance and Sustainable Development Goals | 2023 Edition
This e‑course explored the relationship between EU insurance law, the SDGs and human rights, with experts delivering a series of talks on the subject.
It enabled participants to identify potential threats and opportunities for the SDGs and human rights in insurance markets, preparing them to respond quickly when exposed to such scenarios. The course also provided an understanding of how an organisation’s nature defines the interaction between these three spheres (EU Insurance Law, SDGs and Human Rights), offering the integrative vision needed to address these issues from a human rights perspective.
Events
International Conference of the Jean Monnet Module on EU Insurance Law: Challenges in the SDG Era
The main objective of this annual conference was to create a forum in which scholars, practitioners, non-governmental organisations, representatives from the cooperative and social sectors, and state agencies interested in insurance could meet and discuss topics of mutual interest. The focus was on making public policy recommendations regarding the role of insurance in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The conference aimed to generate knowledge and raise awareness of the role of insurance in ensuring equal enjoyment of human rights and achieving the SDGs, in line with the European Union’s core values.
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