Study On Legal Status Of Beneficiary In Property Insurance

The Insurance Law of China provides for beneficiary under personal insurance contracts only,but fails to clarify the legal status of beneficiary under property insurance contracts.In practice,beneficiaries has emerged in property insurance contracts by agreement,which generates into common practice.However,as there is no clear legal provision in law related to the legal status of beneficiary of property insurance contract,the courts have come to various conclusions on this issue,which has come to be quite disputable in both theoretical and judicial circles of insurance law.The Part ? of this article summarizes the origins of the beneficiaries under property insurance.It is believed that there are three main origins,including to guarantee the bank creditors' rights and interests,the special needs of the actual owners of vehicles or ships,and the particularity of the guarantee insurance contract.This part also introduces the attitudes of Chinese courts towards the issue of the beneficiaries under property insurance.There are now contrary viewpoints in the theoretical circle of insurance law on whether the legal status of the beneficiaries under property insurance should be recognized or not.The Part ? of this article analyses four typical views of negative theory,i.e.the interpretation principle of "enumeration is prohibition",the prohibition of profit theory,the theory by reference to the beneficiary under death insurance and the theory redundancy of property insurance beneficiary.This part then comments on the said theories.The Part ? of this article affirms the legal status of property insurance beneficiaries from the angle of current legal interpretation,legal basis and practical needs.From the perspective of legal interpretation,the principles of systematical interpretation and teleological interpretation provide the interpretation basis for property insurance beneficiaries.We can also find legal supports from the principles of insurance law,the principle of autonomy of will,the theory of third party interest contract and the transferability of the financial interests under property insurance.The establishment and development of beneficiaries under property insurance proves the increasing requirements for granting them with valid legal status.The part ? of this article expresses the author's preliminary ideas on improving the legal system of property insurance beneficiaries:comparing with the provisions related to the beneficiaries under personal insurance,those related to property insurance beneficiaries can be moderately feasible;the beneficiaries shall not be required to hold insurance interests upon the subject matter of insurance when including the beneficiaries into insurance contract;and in some cases,the insurance benefits granted for beneficiaries shall be limited to the outstanding credit held by the beneficiaries against the insured.