Taiwan Puyuma train accident killed children can not get insurance compensation to the mainland "insurance Law" warning
Recently, the Taiwan Puyuma train derailment overturned accident went viral on the Internet, and what is even more shocking is that the five children who were unfortunately killed were unable to get due compensation because of the amendment of Taiwan's "insurance law" in 2010, only to refund the insurance premium with interest - that is, the compensation for each child was only 170 Taiwan dollars (about 37.8 yuan). The author takes the insurance law of both sides of the Strait as a comparison of the restrictions on the payment of minor death insurance, and gives one or two suggestions to make the Insurance Law of China more suitable to protect the rights and interests of minors.
The Provisions of the "Insurance Law" of Taiwan on the Insurance Contract for the benefit of the death of a Minor are now in Article 107. In 2001, the Insurance Law of Taiwan added Article 107, which stipulates that "When a life insurance contract is concluded, a minor under the age of 14, or a person who is mentally incapacitated or mentally weakened, shall be the insured, except for the payment of funeral expenses, the remaining death benefits shall be invalid." The amount of the funeral expenses insured in the preceding paragraph shall not exceed the amount prescribed by the competent authority." After the adoption of the amendment, the Ministry of Finance of Taiwan will increase the amount of funeral expenses to NT $2 million in accordance with the authorization in paragraph 2 of the same article. However, in practice, the insurance company will pay the funeral expenses paid by the death insurance according to the fixed payment operation, rather than the loss compensation, that is, regardless of the actual expenditure, as long as it is within NT $2 million, the insurance company will pay the full amount of the insurance contract. However, at that time, the average funeral cost of a child's death in Taiwan was no more than NT $200,000. Under the high funeral costs, many parents are even willing to kill their children to defraud the high insurance premiums. The new 107 provisions of this purpose control the moral hazard of beneficiaries, which reflects the basic guarantee of human dignity, but seriously threatens the life guarantee of minors.
Therefore, on February 1, 2010, Taiwan's legislature had to amend Article 107 of Taiwan's Insurance Law again: "A life insurance contract entered into by a minor under the age of 15 for the insured shall become effective on the date when the insured reaches the age of 15; In the event of the death of the insured before the age of fifteen, the insurer shall refund the premium paid with interest or the value of the account in the special book of investment insurance."
Comparison of the restrictions on the payment of minor death insurance under the insurance law of both sides of the Strait
The restriction on the payment of the death of a minor in the mainland is reflected in article 33 of the Insurance Law: "The applicant shall not take out a life insurance for a person without civil capacity that takes death as the condition of payment of insurance benefits, and the insurer shall not cover it. Where parents take out personal insurance for their minor children, the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall not be restricted. However, the total amount of insurance benefits payable on the death of the insured shall not exceed the limit prescribed by the insurance regulatory body under The State Council." Compared with the "Insurance Law" of Taiwan, the "Insurance Law" of the mainland has obvious differences in the restrictions on the payment of minor death insurance.
The Mainland's Insurance Law stipulates that only parents of minors can insure them against death. Taiwan's "Insurance Law" does not make specific provisions for death insurance policyholders under the age of 15. Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of Taiwan's "Insurance Law", as long as there is a personal insurance interest, it can be insured. There are some differences between minor life insurance and ordinary life insurance, so we should make restrictions on the insurance applicant on the basis of considering the protection of minor life safety, so as to prevent moral hazard. Compared with Taiwan, the mainland's Insurance Law provides more comprehensive protection for minors.
To our country "insurance law" suggestion one or two
First, the scope of insurance interest is too narrow. Article 33 of the Insurance Law emphasizes that the insured may not insure against the death of persons without civil capacity, but parents may insure against the death of minors. And in our country, the minors under the age of 10 belong to the persons without the capacity for civil conduct.
Therefore, if both parents are dead, or if the parents are still alive but do not wish to insure their minor children under the age of 10, no one else may insure the minor, otherwise it is illegal. Thus, minors under the age of 10 will lose their death insurance coverage. Since the implementation of family planning in China, parents face the increased chance of losing their only child, and the death insurance system for children under the age of 10 must be retained to enhance parents' ability to cope with risks.
Second, according to Article 33 of the Insurance Law, parents take out death insurance for their children, and the insurance contract and the insurance amount do not need to be approved by the minor. Such legislation should take into account that minors do not have a perfect understanding of insuring their own lives. If the right of consent is still granted to them, it may occur that others other than parents may take advantage of the minors' cognitive ability to think poorly and make them agree to the conclusion of the death insurance contract, which is detrimental to the protection of minors' lives. The right to conclude the insurance contract for the death of a minor is handed over to the parents. Through the emphasis on the upbringing and cultivation of children in the traditional Chinese concept, most parents love and protect their children, so that if the parents are insured for minor children, the provision of the first consent right is exempted.
In order to protect the rights and interests of minors, both parents must be required to agree in writing at the same time when signing an insurance contract in order to sign an insurance contract with death as the payment condition. If one of the parents opposes the death insurance of minor children, the insurance contract cannot be concluded.
