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A Review on Issues of Insurable Interest and the Life Insurance
Journal of Insurance and Finance
2015, 26(3),
pp.141-172
Publisher : Korea Insurance Research Institute
Research Area : Business Management
Publisher : Korea Insurance Research Institute
Research Area : Business Management
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The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (hereunder, ʻthe Law Commissionʼ) are undertaking a joint review of insurance contract law. In 2014, the Law Commission published "Issues Paper 10 Insurable Interest: updated proposals", of which revisited the issue of insurance interest. In the Paper, the Law Commission proposed several topics on life assurance. Firstly, a person should have an insurable interest in the life of another, irrespective of whether they can show economic loss. Secondly, an insured has an insurable interest where there is a reasonable prospect (or similar) that the insured will retain an economic benefit on the preservation of the life insured or incur an economic loss on death. Thirdly, there should be no statutory limit on the amount, which the insured may obtain insurance over the life insured. In sum, it can be said that the Law Commission proposed that the nature of certain relationship, which did not need evidences of economic losses, should extend beyond the self and spouse/civil partner categories, and certain limited extensions to the category of "natural affection", to cover parents insuring the lives of their children, and cohabitants insuring each other, subject to certain caveats. Additionally, the Law Commission stressed that there is no clear rationale for limiting the value of policies; therefore, the value of the particular policy and the cost of the premium will vary depending on the risk appetite of the respective parties. In the meantime, it seems that some Korean school introduces insurable interest to life insurance without exhaustive criticism and analysis. In light of the current english law reform, the definition of insurable interest is not self evidently clear, and it is still skeptical whether there will be any advantages for the modernization and development of Korean Insurance Law with the induction of insurable interest to life insurance. Instead of bringing into the definition of insurable interest to life insurance, it is strongly recommended any legal problems on this issue should be revised and modified in due course.
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