On Insurable Interest

Insurance is a system of decentralized risk of loss through commercial activities. It not only plays an important role in loss-compensation and risk- diversification but also is good for social stability. With the increasing development of the insurance industry, we need a more comprehensive law to regulate them. And Insurance Act is the specific law to regulate it. The core of Insurance Law is insurance contract, whose core is insurable interest. Therefore the insurable interest is instrumental in the Insurance Act and even in the Insurance Practice. So it is necessary to make an in-depth study. This article carries out its study on insurance benefits in the following four parts.The first part is an overview of insurable interest, which includes the concept, the evolution in the civil law and the legislative practice of insurable interest. Insurable interest should have different meaning in property insurance and life insurance. And it should be recognized by the law, economy, and certainty. The evolution of insurable interest has gone through three phases- the general insurance benefits and the technical insurance benefits and economical insurance benefits. More emphasis on law and legal practice should be made to stipulate and improve it.The second is insurable interest in property insurance. It is mainly about the types, the people involved in the benefits and the existence time. Property insurable interest is divided into the present benefits, the prospect benefits and the responsible benefits. The insurable interest in property insurance should belong to the insured. As long as the time of the accident is within insurance benefits, it is in line with the principle of compensation for the loss.The third part is insurable interest in life insurance. First, it mainly introduces the necessity of the existence of insurance benefits in Life Insurance. Second, it is about the confirmation of the life insurable interest which includes three principles-the principle of the interest, the principle of consent and the principle of eclecticism. Finally, it is about the existence time of life insurance. In general ,as long as there is insurable interest when insured. The last part is the legislation and improvement of insurable interest. China's insurance laws in the interests of the insurance provisions are still inadequate, which to a certain extent restricts the development of insurance. Insurable interest in property and in life insurance should be provided separately, because their people involved and existence time are different. In life insurance, to identify that policyholder has insurable interest, in addition to the policyholder and the insured person should have some stakes , we must also obtain the consent of the insured person.