The Research On Shipbuilding Insurance Coverage Clause

With the development of modern shipping,the value and complexity of ships are increasing,and the disputes related to shipbuilding insurance are gradually increasing,to which both legislation and judicial practice must respond.So far,there are no special laws and regulations related to shipbuilding insurance in China,and there is a lack of research on shipbuilding insurance in academic circles.The scope of insurance coverage is the core content of shipbuilding insurance,which directly determines whether there will be a clear judgment standard when the insurance claims are settled,and directly affects the outcome when disputes arise between insurance parties.Based on this,this paper focuses on the existing problems of the coverage clause of shipbuilding insurance,in an attempt to promote the resolution of disputes related to the coverage clause of shipbuilding insurance,maintain the balance of interests between the insurer and the insured,and promote the further development of China’s shipbuilding industry.This paper consists of four chapters.Chapter 1 is an overview of shipbuilding insurance coverage clauses,which is divided into three sections.In order to understand the necessity of defining the coverage of shipbuilding insurance,it is necessary to understand the historical development and current situation of shipbuilding insurance clauses in various countries,and to clarify the legal nature of shipbuilding insurance clauses as "quasi-legislation".Then it is clarified that the coverage clause consists of the subject matter of insurance,the scope of liability and the exclusion of liability.The second section elaborates on the specific contents of the coverage clauses of shipbuilding insurance,introducing the specific contents of the liability coverage clauses and exclusion clauses respectively.The third section points out the controversies related to the coverage clauses of shipbuilding insurance,focusing on the determination of the design error clause and the risk boundary and the collision liability clause,which leads to the following study.Chapter 2 is divided into two sections,which mainly discusses the design error clause in the coverage clause of shipbuilding insurance.The first section defines the concept of "design error" and tries to solve the problem of conflicting standards of design error.A "design error" should mean that the designer has provided incorrect specifications for the manufacturing process.On this basis,a distinction is made between "design errors" and the related concept of "latent defects".In addition,the design error is determined by the legal technical standards and the agreed technical standards,generally based on the agreed standards.If the agreed standard is lower than the statutory standard,the statutory standard should be used.The second section provides a basic interpretation of the external boundary of the risk of design errors and the scope of compensation for damages.The division of design error and the loss caused by design error should adopt "different component standard",which is not only more feasible in practice,but also more convenient for the specific calculation of loss.In addition,it is argued that the scope of compensation for loss due to design errors should be limited to the physical damage of the subject matter of insurance.Chapter 3 mainly discusses the collision liability clause in the coverage clause of shipbuilding insurance,which is divided into two sections.The first section is an interpretation of the connotation of collision liability and the indemnity scope of collision liability in each country.The connotation of collision is different in the shipbuilding insurance clauses of different countries,and there is a difference between broad and narrow sense.And the scope of indemnity of collision liability in different countries is sorted out.The second section mainly attempts to argue that the maritime liability limitation system can be applied to the pilot ship.This section mainly focuses on the three criteria stipulated in the Maritime Law of the People’s Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as "Maritime Law").Firstly,a "ship under construction" is a ship in the sense of the Maritime Law and meets the criteria of a ship.Secondly,the shipbuilder may be recognized as the owner of the ship in accordance with the registration,the agreement of the ship construction contract or the nature of the ship construction contract,which is in line with the subject standard.Finally,"operation of ships" in the Maritime Law should be understood as "operation of ships",and the construction of ships will involve the operation of ships,which meets the standard of restricted claims.Chapter 4 is mainly based on the conclusions of the previous chapters and proposes the improvement of the insurance coverage of ship construction in China.On the one hand,based on the analysis and argumentation in the second and third chapters,suggestions for improvement are made for the design error clause and the collision liability clause respectively.On the other hand,the proposed amendments to the Maritime Law and other suggestions for improvement are put forward.In the process of amending the Maritime Law,firstly,the definition of "ship" should be adjusted to include ships under construction.Meanwhile,the term "operation of a ship" in Article207 of the Maritime Law should be changed to "operation of a ship".In addition,based on the disadvantages of the listed risk model,this paper believes that the underwriting model of China’s ship construction insurance should be modified to the model of "all risks minus exclusions",and the rules of interpretation of the clauses should be constructed.