On The Duty To Notify Increased Risk In Insurance Law

The duty to notify increased risk is an important obligation imposed on the applicant or the insured in insurance law. It refers to the following situation: during the insurer's liability period, if the risk of the insured subject matter increases, the applicant or the insured must promptly notify the insurer. Meanwhile, the insurer has the right to increase the premium or avoid the insurance contract in order to control the risk in the performance of the contract.This dissertation takes off from the basic concept of the duty to notify increased risk, studies on its basic theory, and forwards some suggestions to perfect the relevant provisions in the Chinese Insurance Law. Besides preface and conclusion, this dissertation is divided into three chapters as follows:Chapter 1: The Basic Theory of the Duty to Notify Increased Risk. This chapter firstly analyses the basic concept of the duty to notify increased risk, secondly discusses the basis of the duty to notify increased risk in insurance science and jurisprudence, thirdly explores relevant legislations in both civil and common law countries, and lastly forwards some suggestions to Chinese legislations.Chapter 2: The Determination of Increased Risk and Its Types. This chapter discusses the elements of increased risk, and concludes that an increased risk in insurance law should refer to the change of risk that significantly affects the equal consideration relationship in the insurance contract. The increased risk should be significant and durative, should happen during the insurance contract period, and should be unforeseeable when concluding the contract. Two normative types of increased risk are also analyzed in this chapter, i.e. increased risk stipulated by contract v. increased risk stipulated by law, subjective v. objective increased risk. There is necessity for the existence of these two types of increased risk. Therefore the Chinese Insurance Law should also distinguish these differences. Chapter 3: Performance of the Duty to Notify Increased Risk. This chapter analyzes the shortcomings of article 37 of the Chinese Insurance Law, which is too simple to be implemented in practice. The author makes in-depth discussion on the subject, performance/nonperformance of the duty to notify increased risk and their legal consequences.