The Insured's Duty of Disclosure under Chinese Insurance Law

Abstract

Two and a half centuries ago, Lord Mansfield delivered the judgment of Carter v Boehm, which is one of the most well-known cases in English law. Since then, the duty of disclosure has become one of the most significant obligations of the insured. During the past 250 years, the development of English law on this particular issue has been truly extraordinary. Various kinds of detailed and practical principles have been laid down by the English courts. In addition, most recently, after a thorough review progress undertaken by the English and Scottish Law Commissions, the Insurance Act 2015 (UK) came into force in August 2016, and parts of the outdated duty of disclosure principles have been replaced by this new Act. As the origin of modern insurance law, it is an undebatable fact that English law has also had an influence on Chinese law that cannot be ignored. This paper will first explore the insured’s duty of disclosure under Chinese law in detail. Secondly, the criticisms of current Chinese insurance law will be discussed. In particular, in light of the reforms in English law, what are our reasonable expectations of new developments in Chinese insurance law?