The concept of “insurable interest” in civil law: Key issues of theory and practice

Abstract

The article pays attention to the importance of insurable interest in the modern legal environment. The insurable interest is looked at in relation to the insurable risk; the meaning of the insured property losses is also explained. The article formulates the features for a single concept of insurance contract. In the focus are such features of insurable interest as legitimacy and private (subjective) nature. The author reveals the difference between the objective and subjective sides of the insurable interest and analyzes judicial practice. It is concluded that insurable interest of the subject consists in compensation for property losses, which are not in all cases related to the concept of “damage” and “harm” in civil law. Accordingly, the insurable interest exists insofar as there is a possibility of the occurrence of insured property losses; moreover, the insurable interest is of property nature, which allows us to formulate uniform features of a personal and property insurance contract.