Research On The Doctrine Of Reasonable Expectations In Insurance Law

With the development of modern insurance transactions,the insurance contracts have changed from the contracts that both parties determine the content of the contracts through consultation and negotiation to the attached format contract drafted by the insurer in advance.The policy holder and the insured gradually lose the freedom of contract in the face of the long and complicated insurance contract drawn up by the professional insurer with abundant funds and rich experience.In order to balance the obvious imbalance of the contracting status of the two parties in the insurance contract,the court applies the traditional contract interpretation doctrines,such as the doctrine of ambiguity,to protect the policy holder and the insured in the trial of insurance disputes.However,with the increasing complexity of insurance disputes,the traditional doctrines of contract interpretation gradually exposed its drawbacks in judicial practice,and the doctrine of reasonable expectation emerged as the times require.The principle of reasonable expectation,starting from the principle of unjust enrichment,forbids the insurer to use its absolute dominant position to obtain illegitimate interests,and protects the reasonable expectation of the policy holder and the insured,regardless of whether such expectation can be derived from the insurance contract text.Since the emergence of the principle of reasonable expectation,although it has been controversial for breaking through the traditional contract theory,its concern and call for freedom and equality of contracting also provide an effective means to protect the legitimate interests of the policy holder and the insured.Taking the doctrine of reasonable expectation as the object of study,this paper attempts to clarify the theoretical origin of the principle of reasonable expectation by using the research methods of historical analysis,empirical analysis and comparative analysis,restore the judicial application status of the principle of reasonable expectation in China,and based on China’s national conditions,puts forward some suggestions on the construction of the doctrine of reasonable expectation in China’s Insurance Law.In addition to the introduction and conclusion sections,this paper is comprised of four chapters:The first chapter starts with the background of the doctrine of reasonable expectation,and introduces the causes of the principle of reasonable expectation.At the same time,through the analysis of Professor Robert Keeton’s point of view,this paper summarizes the main content of the principle of reasonable expectation.In the case of clarifying the research object and scope of this paper,this paper introduces the current situation that the principle of reasonable expectation is not stipulated in China’s legislation,and expounds the defects such as the limitation of the scope of application of the contract regulation rules of China’s Insurance Law,as well as the problems such as the basic principles of the insurance law can not highlight the value orientation of the insurance law,so as to demonstrate the absence of the principle of reasonable expectation in China’s legislation.The second chapter focuses on the concrete patterns of the principle of reasonable expectation in our judicial practice.In judicial practice,in order to respond to the actual needs of insurance disputes in time and give effective relief to vulnerable policyholders and insured,the judges adopt the spirit core of reasonable expectation principle,and realize the protection of reasonable expectation to the policyholder and the insured in various forms and paths,mainly reflected in the expansion of other contract interpretation theories.The reason for the disorder of the above-mentioned court application principles and rules lies in the limitation of traditional contract regulation methods,which can not respond to the actual needs.However,due to the lack of reasonable expectation principle,the court is forced to extend the application of existing principles or rules to protect the substantive contract freedom of the insured and the insured.The third chapter first introduces the views of the academic circles on the principle of reasonable expectation,clarifies the disputes in the development process of the principle of reasonable expectation,and demonstrates the strong vitality of the principle of reasonable expectation.At the same time,through the investigation of the theoretical basis of the principle of reasonable expectation,it is clear that the adherence of insurance contract,the lack of traditional judicial regulation means,the requirements of fairness and justice,and the public welfare of insurance transactions are the basis of the principle of reasonable expectation,which reflects the unique advantages and significance of the principle compared with other regulatory means.The fourth chapter focuses on the localization of the principle of reasonable expectation in China.First of all,from the response of the principle of reasonable expectation to the characteristics of the insurance contract,and the need to improve the regulation system of the standard terms of the insurance contract,this paper clarifies the necessity and rationality of the localization of the principle of reasonable expectation.Secondly,starting from the positioning and value orientation of the doctrine of reasonable expectation,this paper puts forward the institutional basis for the construction of the doctrine of reasonable expectation in China’s Insurance Law.Combined with the current practice of China’s insurance industry,it puts forward specific suggestions on the path construction,such as the need to prove the reasonable expectation of the policy holder and the insured in the judicial judgment,and there is no subjective fault.