Variable insurance has been offered on the domestic market since 2001 to meet the changing needs of financial environments, and is a financial product to which the principle of self-liability for the policy holder applies. In other words, variable insurance refers to insurance wherein the whole or portion of the premium paid by the policy holder is included in the special account. Underwriters for variable insurance invest the foregoing premium mainly in stocks or marketable securities, and pay out applicable proceeds to the insured out of the revenues derived from the foregoing investment. Since variable insurance is a product wherein the insurance proceeds vary with the outcome of asset operation, the policy holder runs the risk of incurring unforeseen loss, and therefore, some legal countermeasures are required to protect the policy holder of variable insurance.
It seems, however, that the laws and regulations designed to protect the variable insurance policy holder in a contractual relationship have not yet been properly established in our country. Given such circumstances, I would like to attempt to compare and analyze the laws, regulations, and judicial precedents of those countries where variable insurances have long been sold, and search for countermeasures which will protect the policy holders of variable insurance in our country. Especially in respect to the problems of our legal system - firstly, the policy holder's obligation for declaration and principles of suitability, secondly, the liability for due diligence in asset management, and thirdly, the issue of bank liability in the event a bank is involved in asset management - I would like to present various approaches to improving these issues.