Assessing Article 65 of the Chinese Insurance Law 2015 : third party rights under liability insurance

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive study of issues related to the rights of third parties under Article 65 of the Chinese Insurance Law 2015. The issues that are identified and discussed include: whether or not there is any inconsistency between the first two paragraphs of Article 65; how to define the phrase “the insured delays making such a request”, which gives a third party the right to claim indemnity; the rights of a third party to claim directly against the insurer; and the insurer’s defenses against both the third party and the insured. The thorough investigation into all these issues shows that the existing Chinese law lacks clarity with respect to the rights of a third party under liability insurance.