보험금청구권과 보험금반환청구권의 소멸시효기간에 관한 연구

Abstract

The Korean Supreme Court has ruled that the period of extinctive prescription is two years when the right to claim insurance benefits is exercised according to an uninsured motorist insurance. Although the Supreme Court is showing mixed views on cases when the victim, in accordance with the Commercial Law, exercises his right to claim directly against the insurance company, according to the legal principle of many the Supreme Court rulings, the prescription period is three years. The Supreme Court has ruled that an prescription period is five years when the insurance company exercises its right to claim the return of wrongful gains on the grounds that the surety insurance contract is invalid. However, when an insurer who has been commissioned with the guarantee of automobile compensation business exercises the right to claim the return of wrongful gains, the Supreme Court has ruled that the prescription period is ten years. Thus, the Supreme Court has ruled in various ways on the prescription period. In this paper, we discuss if it is reasonable to determine the starting point and the prescription period in a complex way. There are common features, as well as differences, between the case where the right to claim insurance benefits is exercised according to the uninsured motorist insurance and the case where the victim exercises the right to claim directly against the insurance company. Similarly, there are also common features and differences between the case where the insurance company exercises the right to claim the return of wrongful gains on the grounds that the surety insurance contract is invalid and the case where the insurer who is commissioned with the guarantee of automobile compensation business exercises the right to claim the return of wrongful gains. The rulings of the Supreme Court are reasonable if the emphasis is placed on the fact that circumstances are different. But all previously discussed cases have in common that insurance companies make payments due to accidents. Considering that they have something in common, it is more reasonable to determine the prescription period in a simple manner than to complicate the matter by distinguishing between them. Simplifying the right to claim insurance benefits and the prescription period of the right to claim the return of insurance benefits solves the legal problem in a simple and clear way.