보험금청구권의 소멸시효제도 개선방안

Abstract

In the case of insurance claims, it is often difficult for policyholders to recognize whether or not they have occurred because the conditions and reasons for payment are individually determined in the terms and conditions. In particular, if the insurance company refuses to pay the insurance claim, it is difficult for the policyholder to be certain that the claim will be made. Due to the nature of the insurance claim right, it is difficult to expect the claimant to file a claim within the short prescription period. Due to such characteristics of the insurance claim right, it is difficult to expect the claimant to file an insurance claim within the short prescription period. In spite of these circumstances, when the period of extinctive prescription has elapsed, insurance companies without exception claim the defense of extinctive prescription, and the Supreme Court reaffirmed the position that the defense of the extinctive prescription of the insurance company does not violate the rule of good faith. Accordingly, there is a growing demand for improvement of the extinctive prescription system in order to protect the interests of insurance consumers. In order for the extinctive prescription system to be recognized as justified, it must be premised that the opportunity to exercise the right is guaranteed. Therefore, in the case of life insurance in which the occurrence of an insured event is unknown, it is necessary to determine the starting point when the claimant knew or could have known the occurrence or possibility of the claim. Regarding the period of prescription, it is desirable to find a compromise that can protect the right holder while maintaining the function of the extinctive prescription system rather than extending the period uniformly. In order to achieve a balance between legal stability and protection of claimants, it is desirable to set the starting point according to a subjective system, but to set the short prescription period. In addition, if a prescription period of 5 years (or 10 years) based on the occurrence of an insurance accident is applied as a supplementary point, the shortcomings of the subjective system can be compensated for. The void in the protection of claimants that may arise due to the short-term prescription period can be compensated for by designating as the reason for suspension of prescription an objectively verifiable cause among the virtually impossible causes of disability in which the exercise of the right is objectively impossible.