On The Establishment Of Environmental Liability Insurance System In China

Along with the development of economy and industrialization, malignant environmental pollution incidents have occurred frequently in recent years. Compensation for the environmental damage caused by the environmental pollution has also become an unavoidable issue. In the judicial domain, the application of liability without fault can not change the essence of individual compensation and remedies for victims can not be guaranteed .On the contrary, environmental violations are often facing the danger of bankruptcy for not affording the huge amount of compensation for environmental damage .Because of the specialty of the environmental tort and the requirements of sustainable development, the socialization of indemnity liability for environmental tort has become an inevitable trend."Now, insurance has been wide- used. Insurance should serve as a proper means to solve the problems which were expected to be solved by expansion of tort liability"As one effective way of risk transfer, the environmental liability insurance system already became the important component of socialization of indemnity liability for environmental tort .It has the very obvious superiority in balancing the interests of enterprise and the victim as well as promoting the coordinated and steady development of economy.This article has analyzed the causes of socialization of indemnity liability for environmental tort , elaborated the economics and jurisprudence foundation of insurance system of environmental infringement liabilities .The author summarized the history and current situation of the environmental liability insurance system in western countries and analyzed the reasons of backward situation of China's environmental liability insurance system . The author pointed out the main reasons were : narrowness of extent of insurance; expensive insurance rate; unconsciousness of pollution-caused enterprises; insufficiency of government support. as well as unclearness of responsibility of administrative-law-enforcing system .The author discussed the necessity and feasibility of establishing the environmental liability insurance system in China. The author also proposed the following suggestions on juridical angle: the cumulative environmental pollution in theory can be included in the scope of liabilities insurance but not yet incorporated into practice coverage; the scope of loss adjustment should be defined scientifically and pragmatically; compulsory insurance and government-guided insurance should be combined in the model of insurance. Insurance organization should be stated-owned and private-operated; the insurance rates does not advocate the free rate; validity of claim shall be calculated from the day which a third party started to ask the insured to take compensation liability; validity of claim should be formulated. Special care should be paid to prevent the occurrence of moral hazard chiefs.Finally, the author has evaluated the environmental liability insurance system, and proposed the following innovative ideas regarding the optimization of the environment liability insurance system: we should optimize the related legal regime, establish legal basis for the development of environment liability insurance; understand its inherent flaws objectively; strengthen coordinated cooperation between the environmental liability insurance system and related system's ; establish comprehensive environmental damage compensation system; enhance government's support and build a advantageous policy environment for environmental liability insurance development .