More context needed before I feel confident making a suggestion. "Claims can be "time barred" or "statute barred". Contractual terms may even be overridden if they are at odds with statutory provisions of course.


http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/F862.xhtml


Quel est le délai de prescription en matière d'assurance ?
Mise à jour le 22.03.2011 - Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Premier ministre)
En assurance, le délai de prescription est de 2 ans.

Le délai de 2 ans débute à la date à laquelle l'intéressé a eu connaissance du fait générateur, à savoir l'évènement qui lui permet d'agir (exemple : sinistre donnant lieu au versement d'une indemnisation).

Un fois ce délai atteint, il n'est théoriquement plus possible de faire de réclamation.

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Début du délai décalé dans le temps
Le délai de 2 ans peut dans certains cas débuter plus tardivement.

Ainsi, un assureur dispose d'un délai de 2 ans à compter du jour où il en a eu connaissance, pour un cas de réticence, d'omission, de déclaration fausse ou inexacte sur le risque couru.

En cas de sinistre, le délai débute le jour où les intéressés en ont eu connaissance, s'ils prouvent qu'ils l'ont ignoré jusque-là.

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Interruption du délai de prescription
Le délai de 2 ans de prescription peut, selon les cas, être suspendu.

L'interruption de cette prescription peut résulter d'une citation en justice.

Elle peut aussi intervenir du fait de la désignation d'un expert à la suite d'un sinistre.

L'interruption peut résulter de l'envoi d'une lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception adressée :

par l'assureur à l'assuré en ce qui concerne l'action en paiement de la prime,

par l'assuré à l'assureur en ce qui concerne le règlement de l'indemnité.

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Cas du contrat d'assurance sur la vie
Le délai de prescription est porté à 10 ans quand le bénéficiaire est différent du souscripteur et dans les contrats d'assurance contre les accidents atteignant les personnes, lorsque les bénéficiaires sont les ayants droit de l'assuré décédé.

Le bénéficiaire d'une assurance vie dispose quand à lui d'un délai de 30 ans à compter du décès de l'assuré pour intenter une action.


http://www.charlesrussell.co.uk/UserFiles/file/pdf/Guide_-_I...

"Most jurisdictions set a time period after which claims become time barred.
However, questions such as what law applies, when the limitation period
commences and how it may be suspended are not always straightforward. In
English law the Limitation Act 1980 sets out the statutory framework, but its
application to insurance and reinsurance is determined through an analysis of the
relevant case law. Each case can turn on its own individual facts so this summary
should not be taken as anything more than it purports to be – some handy basic
guidelines. "

"Under English law, for a contract not under seal, which includes insurance and
reinsurance contracts, under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 no action can be
brought after the expiration of 6 years from the accrual of the cause of action. This can be
changed by contract, but the Courts are reluctant, so very clear wording in the contract is
needed. The English Courts will only dismiss a time barred claim if the defendant raises it
as a defence - it is not a point the Court takes of its own volition. Arbitrators applying
English law should also enforce time-bar when raised as a defence."

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Note added at 6 hrs (2012-08-22 10:03:25 GMT)
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Different time periods apply of course, depending on the type of insurance, the type of contract and the country of jurisdiction. But all this may be much ado about nothing if we do not have further context. Might not be anything to do about limitation periods at all! ;-)

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Note added at 6 hrs (2012-08-22 10:23:40 GMT)
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What I mean is that a claim may be time-barred in contract law but not at all in tort.

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Note added at 1 day5 hrs (2012-08-23 09:49:28 GMT)
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Do note that at the time I posted this reference explanation post, there were a couple of suggested answers with "expiry" in there somewhere. Those posts (two or three?) have since been deleted.

I did not post an answer as I considered we did not have sufficient context or explanation for that usage of the term "prescription". My post looks odd now, I admit. It was posted with a view to providing a fairly complete explanation of what "prescription" meant and an indication that "expiry" for example for meaning was, in that scope of meaning, an rdinary word which did the trick but that terms such as "limitation", "statute-" or "time barred" were the right terms. However, before and after, I did make clear that we lacked context, that I was not confident to answer and that the reference post was for information, for reference.

I don't feel stupid or regret my reference post but it is to be taken as such and in the context that the whole point was to indicate that posts using "expiry" (with the corrected terminology I suggest here) did not seem to work for meaning, this post indicating why; and in the context where there were a couple of other posts which have since been deleted.