On The Legal Issues Of Free From Particular Average

Free from Particular Average (F.P.A.) is a basic policy of Marine Cargo Insurance, which covers the total loss and General Average to the subject matter insured, and in no case shall this insurance cover Particular Average. Free from Particular Average has a long history, and the Memorandum which was added to the Lloyd's S.G. policy in 1749 is an important source of it. With the development of international trade and carriage of goods by sea, the Memorandum was so short that it is hardly suits modern requirements. So the F.P.A. clause of 1963 London Institute Cargo Clauses (ICC) replaced the Memorandum, which was then replaced by the (C) clause of 1982 London Institute Cargo Clauses. At present, the People's Insurance Company of China Ocean Marine Cargo Clauses (C.I.C.) that revised based on the Institute Cargo Clauses dated 1963 are widely used in China. Ping'an Insurance has been used for a long time in our maritime insurance business as a term. F.P.A. initially only covers total loss, then gradually extended to partial loss after longtime practice, but it excluded particular average at the very beginning. However, due to the misunderstanding and confusion of Particular Average,General Average and Partial Loss, the understanding and application of F.P.A. is in controversy. In order to clarify the misunderstanding, the thesis focuses on the legal issues of F.P.A., and combined with the relevant provisions of China's F.P.A. to analyze it based on the General Average and Marine Insurance. The thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter one mainly talks about the history of F.P.A. and the relevant systems. Firstly, the author analyzes the historical evolution of F.P.A., emphasize that F.P.A. is a basic policy of Marine Cargo Insurance. Then the author analyzes Particular Average based on General Average system, concludes that Particular Average is a specific concept of General Average. In order to understand F.P.A. well, the author then analyzes the nature of particular average in Marine Insurance Act, emphasize that it is meaningful to discuss the compensation of particular average only when General Average is established.Chapter two lays emphasis on the legal issues of Free from Particular Average (F.P.A.). First of all, the author analyzes the nature of particular average and general average in marine insurance, then introduces the underwriting risks and form of losses in marine insurance, and concludes that particular average and general average belong to partial loss. Finally, the author analyzes the establishment conditions of particular average and general average, and describes the concept of partial loss under F.P.A.Chapter three mainly concerns on the F.P.A. clause of China's maritime insurance laws and regulations. The author introduces the F.P.A. clause of the People's Insurance Company of China Ocean Marine Cargo Clauses (C.I.C.) which is mostly related to the issue. According to the analysis of Chapter two, the author pointed out the reasons that caused the misunderstanding and confusion and clarified them. Finally the author concludes that the clarification of the legal issues of F.P.A. will have a positive effect on maritime insurance theoretical study and practical application.