The Duty Of Disclosure In Marine Insurance

As a traditional, unique system in the maritime insurance law,the duty of disclosure is the basis of running the marine insurance. The law of marine insurance forces the insured to fully disclose the pertinent information. This kind of stipulation is to protect the insurer from undertaking the risk without thorough understanding of the material facts concerning the insured object due to the fraud or negligence of the insured so as to adjust the balance of position and rights of the involved parties resulting from the information asymmetry. With the development of marine insurance, scientific and technological advancement has improved the insurer's ability of obtaining information and controlling risks. This improvement contributes to the reasonable rebalanced position of the contract parties. Meanwhile, the insurer can take the advantage of his professional knowledge and experience to abuse the defense upon non-disclosure and mispresentation, and easily rescind the insurance contract for the purpose of relieving from the payment. Not only the violation of disclosure, but also the abuse of defense doesn't conform to the principle of utmost good faith. Without the sound construction of the system of the duty of disclosure, never would the insurance industry have developed stably and smoothly. So it is necessary to research the system of the duty of disclosure。The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the sound construction of the system of the duty of disclosure, which can balance the rights and duties of insurance contract parties. Also the thesis provides revision reference for Maritime Law. The thesis is divided into four parts.The first part discusses the theoretical foundation of disclosure. Firstly, it presents the discussion among scholars, and then makes assessment on these theories. The theoretical foundation of disclosure is the principle of utmost good faith, which contributes to the understanding of the legal nature of the duty of disclosure.The second part presents a comprehensive statement of performance of disclosure, including the subject of duty, the scope and the method of disclosure, the period of disclosure, the standard and exemption of disclosure. The subject of duty is insurance applicant, the insured and their brokers. These subjects should disclose according to the requirement of maritime insurance law. The third part analyzes the violation of disclosure and its legal consequences. The violation of disclosure consists of the requirements in conduct and mood. The violation of disclosure has its particular legal consequences, especially when contract is rescinded.The fourth part explores the remedies for the breach of disclosure duty of the insured. The remedies for the breach of disclosure duty experience change from traditional to modern pattern, which tends to be more reasonable and fair. The Maritime Law provides remedies for the breach of disclosure duty, but these remedies have some deficiencies that need to be improved.The thesis concludes with putting forward some suggestions for the amendment of the article 222 and 223 of the Maritime Law.