PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION OF INSURANCE CONTRACTS

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. Candidate in Private Law, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

The most accurate contracts may also involve ambiguity, and interpretation is an attempt to understand the legal concept. Insurance contracts are counted as accession contracts in which the insured has no thorough understanding of the terms. Because of parties’ inequality in insurance contracts, they fall into a different category from the interpretation perspective and demand protective interpretation rules or principles which support the weaker party’s interests i.e. the insured. Insurance contract interpretation doctrines are divided into two primary and secondary doctrines. The purpose of the primary doctrines is to unravel the mutual intentions of the parties which is common to all contracts and are applied in the first instance. However, if removing ambiguities is not possible by these doctrines, in this situation, the court has to apply doctrines with regard to unequal situation of the parties; the doctrines called secondary doctrines. In interpretation of insurance contracts, attention must be paid to facts of the dispute and the surrounding circumstances. Thus it's better for court to first apply the primary doctrine and, in case of ambiguity, to check the balance of contracting parties and then be applied by secondary doctrine.

Keywords

References

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Law Quarterly
Volume 46, Issue 4
January 2017
Pages 495-512

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