The Application Of The Terms Of Security Maintenance Obligations In The Insurance Contract

In this paper, the author investigates the application of the terms of the insurance contract relating to the maintenance of the insurance subject's security(hereinafter referred to as the "security maintenance obligations terms") in the judicial practice, with the way of case study. By sorting the cases, the author sums up the major issues on the security maintenance obligations terms which exist in most insurance disputes, and then analyzes them one by one.In addition to the introduction, there are five parts in this paper which are as follows:Part I: The nature of the security maintenance obligations and the consequences of the violation of it. According to the explanation principle of civil law, it can be identified that security maintenance obligations are both statutory and promissory; it may be founded in the "insured's obligation" clause, "exclusion" clause and extended liability clauses in an insurance contract. The scope of statutory obligations in security maintenance is very wide and is also very common in our life, however, the promissory security maintenance obligations mainly includes two kinds of special situations which are raising the standard of statutory obligations and increasing the content of obligations. If the insured violate the statutory security maintenance obligations, the insurer can be directly exempted from responsibilities without a separate agreement in the insurance contract. However, if the insured violate the promissory security maintenance obligations, according to the principle of autonomy of will, the judge should identify the insured's right in accordance with the provisions of the contract.Part II: The application of the specific explanation rules in the security maintenance obligations. The validity of the security maintenance obligation depends on whether a party applies the specific explanation rules or not. Even if the statutory obligations are defined in the "exclusion" clause, the insurer does not need to explain specifically. The promissory obligations provisions are related to higher standard than the statutory obligations and new obligations beyond the content of statutory obligations, the insurer is required to give a specific explanation.Part ?: The proof of the violation of the security maintenance obligations. To identify that the applicant or the insured violate security maintenance obligations, the judge not only has to prove that an act objectively violate the law or contract, but also has to prove that it substantially increases the risk of the insured subject matter. In addition, the applicant or the insured's behavior must be out of intent or gross negligence, and only in this case the insurer can claim exemption.Part IV: Other conditions of the insurer exemption from responsibility. After satisfying the above conditions, the judge still needs to further figure out whether the insurer's violation behavior cause the insurance accident, and also make clear that whether the applicant or the insurer takes measures and gives the other party proper warnings when he or she knows the violation.Part V: Conclusion. As for the main problems highlighted in the process of the research, the author gives some suggestions from the aspects of legislation and judiciary and calls for that the insurance exemption should be stipulated in the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China as soon as possible, at the same time, the author also looks forward to further complete the insurer exemption requirements and emphasizes the importance of application of regulations & rules clearly and properly etc.