On The Duty Of Utmost Good Faith Of An Insurer

Currently, in china and even in the world, the credit crisis has been an important issue concerning whether the market economy can run in a healthy way or not. It is imperative to establish an insurance market that needs amplify necessary rules and regulations. The principle of utmost good faith is an important legal character of insurance. Whether the insurer abides by and performs the duty of utmost good faith or not has become important assurance for the development of insurance. This dissertation tries to make a deep and systemic study on insurer's duty of utmost good faith with the purpose of urging the academic to think much of this problem and providing theoretic reference for practice and law. The dissertation consists of 5 Parts.The first part expounds the basic theories of principle of utmost good faith. The thesis researches the establishment and evolution of the principle of good faith in civil and commercial law and introduces the development of the principle of utmost good faith in insurance law. Then the thesis discusses legal characters of the principle of utmost good faith basing on comparing the principle of good faith and the principle of utmost good faith.The second part puts the emphasis on why the insurer shall abide by the duty of utmost good faith. The principle of utmost good faith shall not only bind the insured but also the insurer because insurance contract has its special character differing from civil and commercial contract. Insurance contract is an accidental contract, a contract of fixed formula and an informal contract. Modern insurance action also requires the insurer to undertake the utmost good faith duty.The third part inquires into the good faith obligations of the insurer basing upon the regulations and law as to insurance. Representative obligations of the insurer are the duty to state the insurance contracts clearly, the duty to waiver and estoppels, and the duty to compensate and give the beneficiary premium. The insurer's explanation is a kind of feature in insurance law of China. The thesis explains its content, criterion and fulfilling mode.The fourth part researches the problems that the insurer breaches the good faith obligations in practice and legal consequences in breach of the insurer's duty of utmost good faith. The insured can discharge the insurance contract and obtain compensation when the insurer breaches the good faith obligations.Basing on the studies, the fifth part puts forward some constructive suggestion regarding to the amendment of the Insurance Law of the P.R.C and finds a solution to problems, which occurs during the insurer's practice. We must modify and perfect our insurance legal system and enhance much supervision and execution. The insurer should improve practical operation.In a word, the author probes into the good faith principle in insurance law in order to elucidate the utmost good faith duty of the insurer, and analyzes the problems and countermeasure as well as related theory to make the insurance law more effective in practice and accelerate the development of national insurance.