생명보험에서의 피보험이익과 보험살인에 대한 보험회사의 책임

Recently the insurance frauds have been increasing with the spread of insurance. They incur serious problems when they include the murder of the subjects of the insurance policy (cestui que vie). Insurance laws require insurable interests or signed consents to protect them. But the murder of cestui que vie still occurs to collect the proceeds of insurance. So it is necessary for insurance companies to do some verifications in advance to prevent the murder. Insurance murders have some characters which can be ascertained. If the insurer neglects its duty, liability can arise. This article introduces some cases in the United States that dealt with the tort liabilities of insurers and discusses the issues in the context of Korean laws. Insurances taken out on the life of another person without any interest are a kind of gambling and are against public policy. The life of human is so much precious that everyone should protect. When an insurer was negligent in issuing a life insurance policy and this negligence was the proximate cause of the cestui que vie’s death, it should be subject to tort liability.