자동차배상책임보험에서 보험급부와 관련된 소멸시효

Abstract

This paper tries to study the extinctive prescription relating to insurer’s liability for victims or hospitals in Automobile Liability Insurance, disputed on the decisions of Supreme Court. It also contains a discussion about whether or not the insurer’s medical fee guarantee to hospital has an effect on the progression and interruption of prescription in automobile liability insurance contract. According to Civil Code § 168, ‘Acknowledgement of Liability’ is one of the grounds for interruption of prescription. If so, is the insurer’s medical fee guarantee considered as ‘Acknowledgement of Liability’, a ground of the interruption of prescription?The Supreme Court construed this problem as follows; the insurer's medical fee guarantee to hospital is ‘acknowledgement of liability’, it is a ground of the interruption of prescription to pay the medical fee. At that time the insurer guaranteed to pay medical fee to hospital, new claim/obligation relationship occurred between the insurer and hospitals. When an insurer becomes aware of the occurrence of an automobile accident, the insurer shall notify the medical institution to treat the victim, and that he/she has intention to pay the medical fee, covered by automobile insurance and of the limit of such payment. In my opinion, the treatment by the medical institution is a kind of a benefit in kind, the medical institution have a new claim to insurer, different from a claim of loss by victims. If so, the suspendible period shall be reckoned from not the date when an automobile accident occurs, but the date when insurer make a medical fee guarantee. By the insurer’s medical fee payment, the claim of loss by victims shall be terminated within the limit of such payment. I hope that this paper will serve as platform from which more studies, debates of greater depth may be given, for the reasonable settlement of disputes in the automobile insurance compensation affairs.