On The Interpretation Of Insurance Contracts

The insurance contract explanation refers to the process of the court or the arbitration facilities according to the legal rule or the commonly used way, determines the insurance contract's content, when the litigants have dispute to the insurance contract content or the words. The insurance contract explanation is the important means to resolve the insurance contract disputes. But in China, the institution of insurance contract explanation is not perfect, only the 31st article of "the Chinese Insurance Law " stipulates: "When the dispute about the insurance contract's provision occurs, the People's court or the Arbitration authority should make explanation that is good to the insured and the beneficiaries." Now, in our country, a phenomenon occurs frequently in the judicial practice: As long as the insurer and the policy holder have dispute to insurance contract provision, the doubt benefit explanation principle seems to be the first choice. In fact, it is abusiveness to the doubt benefit explanation principle, and opposite with the legislative goal and the biggest faith principle. It causes the court cannot accurately balance the bilateral rights and obligations between the litigants in practice.On the basis of the situation of China's legislation and the judicial practice, the article proposes the explanation methods and their premise to be used, consults the overseas advanced insurance legislation idea, then put forward my suggestion on the promotion of insurance contract explanation rules. The general idea maintains the contract explanation general rules as the most important one, simultaneously assists other technical methods in the insurance field. Particularly, the doubt benefit explanation principle and the reasonable anticipation principle which is popular in the European and American , are for the purpose of proposing more reasonable and useful insurance contract interpretation rule, protecting the benefit of the litigants well, and promoting insurance business . The text divides into three parts:The first part gives the introduction of the different types of insurance contract provision, including the form provision formulated by the insurer, the special agreement that the litigants works out together equally, the articles drawn by the Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the form provision which drafted by insurer and examined by the Insurance Regulatory Commission. This has bought the foreshadowing for the following view. Then, because the insurance contract is one of the named contracts in "the Contract Law ", it should follow the general explanation rule, including meaning explanation, whole explanation, goal explanation, historical explanation, custom explanation and faith explanation. The purpose of this part is to clarify the utilization of the general explanation rule in the insurance contract, and seek for the general character of contract explanation rule between insurance and other contracts.The second part focuses on the insurance contract unique explanation rule. It consult and compare the related principle about insurance contract explanation of the two big legal system, including the doubt benefit principle which is widespread in the present judicial practice, and the reasonable anticipation principle in the Western countries. The analysis to the necessities and promises of these two kinds of principle existents some question, and Lays foundation for the further discussion in the third part.The third part analyzes the present situation of Chinese insurance contract explanation system, and on the foundation gives suggestion to put forward it. It analyzes the shortcoming of insurance contract explanation principles in our country: the interpretation rules are not unified; applied order is not clear; so rigidly adhere to the literal meaning that neglect the true meaning of the litigants, and not focus on the connection of whole contract; abuse the doubt benefit principle. Point to the problems, with the characteristics of insurance contract explanation, it further clarifies the application of insurance contract explanation principles, learns advanced explanation conception from overseas, and replenishes the loss on the legislation and the regulation of judge's discretion, in order to promote insurance business.