On Judicial Application of the Principle of Reasonable Expectation in Interpreting Insurance Contracts

何丽新，厦门大学法学院教授、博士生导师，法学博士；王鹏鹏，厦门大学法学院博士研究生。【中文摘要】美国通过判例的方式确立合理期待原则，其主要目的在于制约保险人优势，矫正当事人缔约失衡地位。我国《保险法》虽然没有规定合理期待原则，但该原则已经在司法裁判中大量适用，从586个保险案件判决显示，法官能够运用该原则对保险合同条款进行符合普通投保人合理期待的解释，进而维护投保人的合法权益。合理期待原则已在美国、加拿大、英国以及我国台湾地 区的司法裁判产生实质影响，且有立法化趋势。我国现有的保险条款说明义务、不利解释制度不足以应对保险双方缔约失衡困境，应适时引人该原则，与不利解释原则、说明义务等制度协同适用，更好地平衡保险合同缔约双方的权利义务。 【Abstract】The United States establishes the principle of reasonable expectation through the method of precedent，whose principal purpose is to restrict the insurer's advantages and rectify the unbalanced positions of the parties concerned. Although China's insurance law does not provide for it，the principle of reasonable expectation has been widely used in judicial activities. The judgment of 586 insurance cases shows that the judge applies the reasonable expectation of the ordinary insurer as the criterion for judicial application. The principle of reasonable expectation has already had a substantive impact on the judicial decisions in the United States， Canada，the United Kingdom and China's Taiwan region，and even has a legislative tendency. The existing explanation obligations and unfavorable explanations are insufficient to cope with the imbalance between the parties of insurance contract，and the reasonable expectation principle should be introduced in time to better balance the rights and obligations of the parties of insurance contract