자살면책기간 경과 후의 자살에 대한 보험자 부책(負責)의 문제점에 관한 소고

Abstract

In general, insurance is based on contingency and uncertainty, so it fits the basic principle of insurance that the insurer is exempt from intentional accidents, in other words, accidents that have lost contingency. According to the commercial law, even in the case of death insurance, the insurer's exemption is recognized for insurance accidents caused by the ‘intentional’ of the policyholder, the insured and the beneficiary in accordance with the general principles of insurance. Therefore, in principle, the insured’s suicide is not a reason for the insurer's liability. However, according to the standard terms and conditions of life insurance, in principle, the insurer is exempted from intentional accidents, but is responsible for paying the insurance money for death due to the insured's mental and physical loss, or the insured's intentional death occurring after the insurer's exemption period of two years. In this regard, it is a question in the perspective of the basic principles of insurance law whether the insurer is responsible for the suicide of the insured after the period of suicide exemption has elapsed. This is a problem arising from the conflict between the ideology of “political protection at the humane level” for the beneficiaries such as the bereaved family and the ideology of “goodwill of insurance and protection of insurance organizations” as essential characteristics of insurance. Therefore, in this study, I reviewed the problem of Article 5 of the ‘Standard Terms and Conditions of Life Insurance’, which stipulates that the insurer is responsible for paying insurance money about the insured's intentional death that occurs after the period of suicide exemption has elapsed. In conclusion, the insurer's liability should not depend on whether the period of suicide exemption has elapsed, but on the ultimate purpose of the insured's suicide regardless of such period. In other words, even before the expiration of the suicide exemption period, the insurer's liability should be recognized for suicide that is not for the purpose of receiving insurance benefits, and the insurer should be considered to be exempted from the insurer if he commits suicide for the main purpose of receiving insurance benefits even after that period. In particular, the insurer's exemption must be granted for altruistic suicide whose purpose is to help insurance beneficiaries by ensuring that insurance money is paid to the beneficiaries such as family or relatives, without considering whether the period of suicide exemption has elapsed.