일본 보험법개정에서의 보험금지급채무의 이행기와 지급지체

“Time for Performance and Delay of Performance of the Insured Amount” was an earnest topic in the 2008 Japanese insurance law reform. Japanese Commercial Code not provide this subject, but some decisions restrictively construed the general condition clause that allow the renew of due date for investigation and adjustment. The supreme court decision on the non-life insurance contract in 1999 and Hukuoka high court decision on the life insurance contract in 2003 were land marking cases. In spite of the new insurance law(§21, §52, §81)following the court's position, many problems leave to general condition. In Korea commercial code §658 provide the payment of insured amount follow: The insurer shall pay the insured amount to the insured or the beneficiary, if there is an agreed period for such a payment, within the agreed period, or if not, within ten days after determining the insured amount payable without delay on receiving the notification under §657(1). But this article and general condition cause many conflict between the insure and the insured. In 2009, Financial Supervisory Service amended the standard general condition concerning the performance of the insured amount (effect date Mar/ 1/ 2010). The writer introduce the Japanese case, new insurance law and insurance industry's response and find some lessons from Japan. This article emphasize the balance between the utmost good faith of the insurance contract, soundness of insurance business and policyholder protection.