Duty of Fair Presentation after the Enactment of the Insurance Act 2015: The Case of Korea and China

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the reformed duty of fair presentation provisions and related caselaw of the Insurance Act 2015 to gain a clearer understanding of the differences between the Act and the preceding legislation.

Design/methodology – The authors analyzed caselaw from South Korea and China that involved breaches of the duty of disclosure. Cases highlighting differences between the duties of disclosure and fair presentation were selected.

Findings – Changes in the practice of marine insurance laws are expected from the application of the reformed duty of presentation provisions. In particular, the rights of the insured are expected to increase, resulting in the fairer conduct of insurance contracts. Due to the fact that the Insurance Act 2015 has only recently taken effect, the provisions of existing caselaw have not yet been applied. This has limited the authors’ scope of analysis.

Originality/value – This paper describes the implications of the duty of fair presentation by analyzing caselaw from South Korea and China that involves the duty of disclosure. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the reformed duty of fair presentation provisions of the Insurance Act 2015 in the context of the legislation’s implications for trade practices.