Among the fundamental principles of insurance, one should distinguish between (a) economic principles of functioning of the insurance system and (b) principles of insurance legal relations .

Economic principles of functioning of the insurance system

The fundamental economic principles of insurance include: 1) the principle of insurable interest; 2) the principle of risk insurability; 3) the principle of equivalence.

The principle of having a property interest

There is a fundamental principle in insurance: “without interest there is no insurance.” In other words, when we are talking, for example, about property insurance, it means protection, insurance of the interest associated with the safety of this property. To determine whether there is an insurable interest in each specific case of applying for insurance protection, it is necessary to answer the question: are there circumstances related to the substance of the interest that could cause harm (damage) to the interested party? If the answer to the question is yes, which means that there is a real possibility of harm (damage), then an insurable interest is present and insurance protection in respect of such an interest can be provided. In paragraph 2 of Art. 930 of the Civil Code, the legislator indicates that the insured (beneficiary) must have an interest in preserving the property. This norm plays an important role in building appropriate insurance relationships. In addition, from this article it follows that when insuring property, it is not permitted to appoint a person who has no interest in preserving the insured property as a beneficiary under the insurance contract.

According to the general rule, an insurable interest must be present at the time of concluding an insurance contract (in all types of insurance, except cargo insurance), or the interested party must have an insurable interest at the time of the occurrence of an insured event (in transport cargo insurance). During the period of validity of the insurance contract, insurable interest may be lost, for example, due to the loss of property for reasons other than the occurrence of insured events (π. 1, Article 958 of the Civil Code). In this case, according to paragraph 3 of Art. 958 of the Civil Code, the insurance contract is terminated, but the insurance premium paid by the policyholder is not returned, since every day during the period of validity of the insurance contract, during which the insurable interest existed and was protected by insurance protection, the insurer was liable in full, and at any time the risk borne by the insurer could be realized, both in a certain part and in the amount of 100% of liability under the insurance contract.

Article 928 of the Civil Code contains a list of interests in respect of which Insurance is not allowed. In particular, these types of interests include:

• 1) illegal interests. When interpreting a property interest as contrary to the law, one should also rely on the provisions of Art. 10 of the Civil Code, according to which actions of individuals and legal entities are not allowed if they are carried out solely with the intention of causing damage (harm) to another person, as well as if these are intentions to abuse the right in other forms;
• 2) losses from participation in games, lotteries and bets. This prohibition follows from the provisions of Art. 1062 of the Civil Code, according to which the claims of citizens and legal entities related to the organization of games and bets or participation in them, as a rule, are not subject to judicial protection;
• 3) expenses that a person may be forced to make in order to free hostages.

In addition, the object of insurance cannot be risk of liability for breach of contract, if this is not the risk of the policyholder himself (clause 2 of Article 932 of the Civil Code), business risk a person who is not the policyholder (Article 933 of the Civil Code), as well as risk of loss(damage, destruction, disappearance) of property if the policyholder has no interest in preserving this property(this provision follows from the norm of paragraph 2 of Article 930 of the Civil Code).

In a relationship life insurance contracts the principle of having a property interest was introduced legislatively in England in the second half of the 18th century. That time was characterized by the emergence of the foundations of life insurance, and in England insurance bets on certain events were widespread: illness, death of famous people, election to parliament, etc. In order to stop such speculation in insurance, the English Parliament passed an act that prohibited insurance of the life of a person or any event in which the policyholder had no interest (Gambling Act).

The principle of risk insurability

Risk is the basis of insurance and in the most general form is defined as the probability of distribution of the result of economic activity and life activity of a subject in areas of favorable and unfavorable deviations. The ambiguity and diversity of these results arise from the uncertainty of environmental factors, information deficiencies inherent in the decision-making process, internal characteristics of the subject, etc. So, uncertainty of environmental factors manifests itself in the fact that the intended, predicted results from the decisions made by the subject and the performance of actions do not coincide with those actually manifested (they turn out to be unattainable or fundamentally different), and accident manifestation of these factors is that they all manifest themselves independently of the will of the subject himself. In particular, these random and uncertain environmental factors can be detected as a result of the following manifestations:

• in the natural environment - in the form of floods, earthquakes, mudflows, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, storms and other natural hazards and disasters;
• in the technological and (or) man-made environment - in the form of accidents in the life support systems of the enterprise (for example, in power supply systems); accidents in safety systems of various industries and, as a result, emissions of pollutants and their components; other technological and man-made accidents;
• in the public (social) environment - as actions of the authorities, changes in legislation, dissatisfaction of the population with social and economic living conditions, which can manifest themselves locally or globally in the form of strikes, lockouts, civil unrest, etc.;
• in a market environment - as the formation of a negative image of an enterprise, manifestation of the principles of competition, recall of products from the market due to certain random reasons for its unsuitability for use by consumers, etc.

Randomness and uncertainty of factors influencing deficiencies (incompleteness, unreliability, ambiguity) of information or factors associated with the internal characteristics of the subject can manifest themselves in the probabilistic distribution of possible decision-making results that deviate from the expected, predicted result.

Risk as the probability of deviation of the actual result of a decision from the expected one, and in its negative manifestation, and accordingly as the distribution of probabilities of unfavorable results, can be assessed economically, and therefore is most often used in insurance. For example, a deviation of the actual result from the expected one may manifest itself in the loss of property, the loss of income of the enterprise as a result of interruption of the production process, the incurrence of unforeseen expenses in connection with the entrepreneur’s obligation to compensate for damage caused to third parties as a result of business decisions, etc. In other words, for an entrepreneur, all of these manifestations are nothing more than damage that can be assessed economically.

From all of the above it follows general criteria for insurability of risks, a) the random nature of the events (factors) that caused the damage; 6) the possibility of economic risk assessment; c) unambiguous identification (identification) of risk; d) homogeneity and multiplicity of risks; e) subjectivity of risk.

The random nature of the events (factors) that caused the damage. This is the primary criterion in the insurer's decision as to whether the risk in question is insurable. The random nature is manifested in the uncertainty of the fact(for example, in property, liability insurance) and (or) time of damage or manifestations of the event, leading to a negative result (for example, in life insurance). It should be clearly distinguished accident as the unknown of the fact and time of occurrence of negative manifestations of the insured event and opportunity their occurrence: chance does not deny the existence of possibility. But chance is also uncertainty regarding the magnitude of possible damage. According to the theory of damage distribution, which manifests itself in the shape of a decreasing curve, small and medium damages are much more common than large ones. In the theory and practice of insurance, other manifestations of damage are also studied, for example, periodicity, with which in one or another type of insurance there are precisely large losses, characteristic or uncharacteristic for this type of insurance. This, however, does not mean that if major damage in insurance, for example, from fire or related risks, on average (of course, this depends on the type of object accepted for insurance, as well as on other risk factors) occurs once every five to six years, then it cannot occur both in the last year of such a conditionally allocated period, and in the first year of accepting a separate risk for insurance. In this sense, we can also talk about the randomness and uncertainty of the manifestation of risk in relation to the amount of possible damage.

Randomness means lack of will of the policyholder, aimed at the occurrence of an event entailing negative consequences. Otherwise, we are talking about deliberate, conscious actions of the policyholder aimed at the occurrence of an event insured under the insurance policy. And losses caused by deliberate actions are the basis for releasing the insurer from the obligation to compensate for them (Article 963 of the Civil Code). In Russian law enforcement practice, this is the only case of manifestation of the will of the insured, which does not have signs of accident. The negligent actions of the policyholder in this sense fall into the category of accidental occurrences, unless otherwise provided by law. Indeed, quite often, damages resulting from the negligent actions of the insured are compensated by insurers according to the terms of insurance coverage (for example, motor third party liability insurance, medical liability insurance, etc.). It would be unfair to assert that foreign practice also refers so unambiguously to the concept of negligence in insurance in the sense of manifestation of the principle of randomness of events leading to damage. Thus, the legislation of many countries (in particular, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark) in this sense distinguishes between negligence and gross negligence. Gross negligence is quite often equated to non-accidental intentional acts (insurance for construction and installation works can serve as an example).

Possibility of economic risk assessment

This criterion assumes that the consequences of the risk should be objectively measurable, i.e., on the one hand, it must be possible to determine the quantitative characteristics of the probabilistic distribution of damage, and on the other hand, it must be possible to assess the maximum probable damage from the realization of the risk. It is important to take into account that establishing a quantitative characteristic of the probabilistic distribution of damage is very conditional, since quite often the quality of information about risk is heterogeneous. In general, information about risk itself is predominantly subjective. Moreover, the higher the degree of novelty of the risk (for example, in pharmacology, genetics, the space industry, etc.), the lower the quality of the accepted assessments.

A quantitative indicator of the probability of damage distribution is manifested in the establishment maximum possible damage. In insurance practice, various criteria (bases) are used to determine the amount of maximum possible damage. These are the criteria of “maximum possible damage”, and “maximum probable damage”, and “maximum permissible damage”, and many others. Large single losses occur infrequently, but their consequences for an insurance company can be devastating, therefore, establishing the maximum possible damage relates, rather, to the insurance technique, and along with it to the criterion of risk insurability from the point of view of the subjective (financial) capabilities of each specific insurer. Thus, in addition to objective reasons choosing one or another basis for establishing the maximum possible damage, takes into account subjective features the insurer's portfolio, its structure and quality content, the structure and quality of reinsurance protection and many other factors.

Unambiguous identification (identification) of risk

This criterion for risk insurability assumes that risks (hazards) accepted for insurance must have a clear definition(identification) in the insurance contract. Of course, such identification can be achieved by forming a structure of insurance protection both on the basis of " named hazards", and on the basis of insurance "from all risks." Thus, the concept of “named perils” suggests that coverage is provided only for those perils that clearly and unambiguously specified in the insurance contract. For example, in an insurance contract against fire and related risks, this may be basic coverage “FLExA” (an English abbreviation for Fire – Lightning – Explosion – Aircraft, which means “fire, lightning strike, explosion, fall of an aircraft or its parts”), flood tap water, flood, earthquake, etc. The idea of ​​the second concept is that insurance coverage is predetermined in relation to “all dangers” except those that constitute the essence exceptions agreed in the insurance contract. The application of this concept of the formation of insurance protection still does not mean that the insurer accepts for insurance collectively, without identification, all the risks characteristic of the activities of the insured. Its peculiarity lies only in the fact that this identification is achieved through detailed exclusions from the scope of insurance coverage.

This criterion provides the insurer with the opportunity to reject the insured's claims for compensation for damage that are not justified from the point of view of the uncertainty of the cause of the damage. The same criterion underlies classification in insurance (see section 3.6).

Homogeneity and multiplicity of risks

Insurance as a mechanism for distributing the losses of one entity among many other entities through the formation of a special fund from funds paid by each of a given set of entities allows us to highlight such a criterion as uniformity And multiplicity of risks. So, for a risk to be insurable, it is essential that it can be classified into any category of homogeneous risks. It is this factor that allows the theory and practice of probabilistic distribution of damage to be applied. It is also important, however, that the selected the group of homogeneous risks had signs of multiplicity, those. so that the law of large numbers applies to it. It is this, on the one hand, that serves as a prerequisite for assessing the probability of an event occurring, and on the other hand, it allows us to put such assessments into the insurance mechanism, in particular, to determine the amount of the insurance premium paid by the policyholder to the insurer for the risk accepted by the insurer for insurance. If the multiplicity of homogeneous identified risks is sufficient, this makes it possible to establish an acceptable cost of insurance protection for the consumer. Otherwise, the insurance protection model for risks that do not meet this criterion may become ideal, but not in demand by the consumer due to its high cost.

Subjectivity of risk

In relation to this criterion, we can say that the risk must have an impact on the results of a specific entity whose property interests are accepted for insurance. The very fact of risk manifestation is not yet a sufficient basis for making a judgment about the existence of an insured event. Such realization of risk should affect the interests of a particular policyholder. And if the risk itself is objective, then the result of its manifestation, which can be insured, is always subjective, or, in other words, subjective, and is projected in the form of negative consequences onto a specific policyholder.

Equivalence principle

This principle states: based on the results of certain periods of time or allocated tariff periods/insurance periods (ideally they should be correlated with the frequency of occurrence of small, medium, large damages) should be achieved principle of economic equality between the total amount of net insurance premium paid by a specific policyholder for the tariff period and the total amount of compensation paid by the insurer in connection with insured events that occurred for the specified period.

• For more details, see: Theory and practice of insurance: textbook. allowance / under general ed. K. E. Turdina. M.: Ankil, 2003. P. 63.

Insurance is a relationship to protect the property interests of individuals and legal entities upon the occurrence of certain events (insured events) at the expense of monetary funds formed from the insurance contributions (insurance premiums) they pay.

The legal basis for insurance is the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Law of the Russian Federation No. 4015-1 of November 27, 1992 “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation” and other regulatory documents.

Insurance— a system (method) for protecting the material (property) interests of subjects of the insurance market (individuals and legal entities), the threat of which always exists, but is not mandatory.

Insurance product- This is the effect of insurance. His evidence certifying that such an action occurred is insurance policy.

Insurance is a system for protecting material interests. The fact that material interests require protection is due to probability of threat their existence. For each individual owner, it (the threat) is small, but in general, according to the law of large numbers, it is quite real. Hence the objective need to insure material risks, which gives rise to the concept of an insurance product, which should always be present on the financial market. Each insurance product corresponds to a specific object of insurance(what is insured), determines reasons for insurance (insurance risk), its cost ( insurance amount), price ( insurance rate), terms of cash payments ( insurance settlements) in anticipation of the events against which insurance is made. The evidence (certificate) of an insurance product is a document called insurance policy. The policy confirms the fact of the prisoner insurance contract(purchase and sale of insurance product), which is always substantive, addressed to insurance participants, contains the main quantitative parameters transaction is legal document.

An insurance contract is a contract for the purchase and sale of an insurance product.

Essence and functions of insurance

Practically any direction of economic activity is risky, since there is always the possibility of incurring financial losses caused by adverse events or their consequences. The reason for this may be related to both the human factor and natural phenomena independent of the will of man or society. Throughout his life, a person faces many dangers that threaten his life, health, and property.

A possible danger realized by a person is expressed in the concept " risk". In which they operate, risk from an everyday concept becomes an economic category. As an economic category, risk characterized by the concept of probability and uncertainty in the development of the situation. Almost any event in the life of a specific subject, group or society can be realized in three directions:

• the result of the event may become favorable (there is a probability of winning);
• the result of the event will not entail changes (zero result);
• the result of the event is negative (involves losses).

Typically, the concept of risk (riskiness of a situation) is associated with possible future negative consequences of the event.

Risk is a future probable event with negative economic consequences of unknown magnitude.

The actual unfavorable outcome of the risk is expressed through damage. Unlike risk, damage is subject to a specific material measurement. The factor of risk and the need to compensate for possible damage requires the organization to have a mechanism to protect against accidents.

Society uses various measures that make it possible to predict with some reliability the likelihood of a risk occurring, which makes it possible to reduce its negative consequences, i.e. damage. One of ways to manage risk is insurance system.

Term insurance First of all, it is associated in the human mind with the word “fear” (fear for the safety of one’s property, for one’s health, life, etc.). It was the fear of incurring material losses and the need to compensate for them that gave rise to insurance. Property owners quickly realized that it was very difficult to compensate for losses incurred alone, since this required creating reserve reserves at their own expense. As a way out of this situation, there was the idea of ​​joint liability for damage, incurred by one of the owners, at the expense of the general fund. All participants in the fund contribute funds to it, which are spent to compensate for the losses of investors. Therefore, a person’s awareness of the danger and the random nature of adverse events, as well as the joint distribution of damage between fund participants, led to the emergence of one of the first organizational forms of insurance activity.

The further development of social production relations led to the need to ensure uninterrupted operation and continuity. Contradictions between man and nature, as well as within society itself, create the preconditions for the occurrence of random events that have negative consequences. Thus, the risky nature of social production creates a need to organize relations between people to prevent, localize the destructive consequences of natural disasters and catastrophes of various types, and also to compensate for the damage incurred as a result of these circumstances.

As a modern definition of the term insurance The following can be highlighted:

Insurance represents a relationship to protect the property interests of individuals or upon the occurrence of certain events (insurance events) at the expense of monetary funds formed from the insurance contributions (insurance premiums) they pay.

Economic essence of insurance consists of the following functions:

• Risk function. The essence of insurance is the mechanism for transferring risk, or more precisely, the financial consequences of risks. For these purposes, the insurance organization forms a specialized insurance fund at the expense of paid insurance premiums (risk fees). The funds of the fund are used to reimburse material losses of fund participants. In exchange for paid insurance premiums, the insurance organization assumes responsibility for the risks taken.
• Warning function provides measures to prevent an insured event and minimize damage caused by insured events. For this purpose, the insurer creates a fund of precautionary measures, the funds of which are spent on predetermined purposes aimed at reducing insurance risks and their negative consequences. An insurance risk is an expected event against which insurance is provided. An event considered as an insurance risk must have signs of probability and randomness of its occurrence. An insured event is an event that has occurred, provided for by an insurance contract or by law, upon the occurrence of which the insurer becomes obligated to make an insurance payment to the policyholder, the insured person, the beneficiary or other third parties.
• Control function is carried out in strictly targeted formation and use of funds.
• Savings function is implemented when carrying out certain types of life insurance - accumulative insurance. The insurance organization simultaneously provides insurance protection to the client and performs the function of a savings institution.

Objects of insurance Material values Income level of citizens Life, health, ability to work of citizens Obligations of the policyholder to fulfill contractual terms for the supply of products, repayment of debts to creditors, compensation for material damage Various loss of income of the policyholder, loss of profit, loss Types of insurance Insurance of buildings, animals, household property, vehicles, crops. Insurance of pensions for old age, disability, loss of a breadwinner, insurance of specific benefits among various social groups of the population. Mixed life insurance in case of death and disability, child insurance, supplementary pension insurance, accident insurance. Insurance of non-repayment of a loan or other debt, insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners, insurance of civil liability of enterprises that are sources of increased danger, etc. In case of a decrease in the agreed level of profitability or income, in case of unforeseen losses, from equipment downtime, etc.

Insurance activity - concept and types

Insurance activities(insurance business) - the field of activity of insurers in insurance, reinsurance, mutual insurance, as well as insurance brokers, insurance actuaries in the provision of services related to insurance and reinsurance.

The purpose of organizing the insurance business is to ensure the protection of property interests of individuals and legal entities, the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities in the event of insured events.

The objectives of the insurance business organization are:

• implementation of a unified state policy in the field of insurance;
• establishing insurance principles and forming insurance mechanisms that ensure the economic security of citizens and business entities on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Objects of insurance

1. Objects personal insurance there may be property interests associated with:

• survival of citizens to a certain age or period, with death, with the occurrence of other events in the lives of citizens (life insurance);
• causing harm to the life and health of citizens, providing them with medical services (accident and disease insurance, medical insurance);

2. Objects property insurance there may be property interests associated, in particular, with:

• possession, use and disposal of property (property insurance);
• the obligation to compensate for damage caused to others (civil liability insurance);
• carrying out business activities (insurance of business risks);

3. Insurance of illegal interests, as well as interests that are not illegal, but the insurance of which is prohibited by law, is not allowed;

4. Unless otherwise established by federal law, insurance of objects belonging to different types and (or) (combined insurance) is allowed;

5. On the territory of the Russian Federation, insurance (except for reinsurance) of the interests of legal entities, as well as individuals - residents of the Russian Federation can be carried out only by insurers who have licenses obtained in the manner prescribed by this law.

Compulsory and voluntary insurance

Insurance is carried out in voluntary and compulsory forms.

Voluntary insurance- based on an agreement between the policyholder and the insurer. The rules of voluntary insurance, which determine the general conditions and procedure for its implementation, are established by the insurer independently in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Insurance”. Specific insurance conditions are determined when concluding an insurance contract.

Compulsory is insurance carried out by force of law. The types, conditions and procedure for compulsory insurance are regulated by other laws of the Russian Federation.

Compulsory insurance, in turn, is divided into insurance at the expense of policyholders:

• building insurance;
• farm animals;
• personal insurance for passengers of air, rail, sea, inland water and road transport;
• compulsory personal and property state insurance.

Voluntary types of insurance are determined mainly by the nature of market relations.

1. Collective insurance life on special conditions when contracts are concluded with enterprises and organizations to insure the life of their employees.
2. Citizens insurance- this is health protection and profitable accumulation of money. Contracts for this type of insurance can be concluded by citizens aged 16 to 77 years (except for disabled people of group 1) for a period of 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 years, but not older than 80 years of age at the end of the contract. The agreement may be concluded in favor of a third party (parents in favor of children, spouses, etc., enterprises in favor of their employees).
3. Children's insurance to adulthood is carried out under insurance contracts for children, regardless of age and health status. These agreements can be concluded by parents (adoptive parents), guardians or trustees and other relatives of the child. The age of the child must not exceed 15 years and the insurance period is determined as the difference between 18 years and the age of the child. Insurance premiums can be paid as a lump sum or monthly.
4. Home contents insurance in modern conditions is becoming increasingly important.
5. Vehicle insurance owned by citizens. Russia has already accumulated sufficient experience in this insurance. The vehicle insurance contract covers insured events (risks) that occurred on the territory of Russia.

These are the following functions:

Risky;

Function of formation and use of insurance reserves;

Savings;

Preventive;

Investment;

Control

Risk function (insurance protection function)is transfer to the insurer(for a fee) material liability for the consequences of risk in the event of the occurrence of insured events provided for by current legislation or an insurance contract.

It is within the framework of the risk function that the objective need for insurance protection is determined, because during its implementation, part of the insurance fund is redistributed among the affected insurance participants in connection with the negative consequences of insurance events.

Function of formation and use of insurance reserves defines the peculiarity of insurance as an economic category. By creating a sufficient volume of insurance reserves(by paying insurance premiums) compensation for material damage is provided upon the occurrence of insured events or payment of insurance amounts upon expiration of the life insurance contract. Only those individuals and legal entities have the right to cover losses and insurance payments. who are direct participants in the formation of the insurance fund. The implementation of this insurance function also occurs in the process of managing insurance reserves in order to generate income and profit.

Insurers are required to adhere to the following conditions for ensuring solvency:

The presence of a paid authorized fund and the presence of a guarantee fund of the insurer;

Creation of insurance reserves sufficient for future payments of insurance amounts and insurance compensations;

The excess of the insurer's actual solvency margin over the calculated standard solvency margin.

Rice. 13.1. Insurance functions

The minimum size of the insurer's authorized capital, which deals with types of insurance other than life insurance, is established in the amount equivalent to 1 million. Euro , and the insurer who deals with life insurance, - 1.5 million euros at the foreign exchange rate of the Ukrainian currency.

TO insurer's guarantee fund include additional and reserve capital, as well as the amount of retained earnings.

Insurers can create free reserves using retained earnings.

Free reserves – this is part of the insurer’s own funds, which is reserved in order to ensure the solvency of the insurer in accordance with the accepted methodology for carrying out insurance activities.

Insurers can create centralized insurance reserve funds to ensure that insurers fulfill their obligations for certain types of compulsory insurance and the bodies that manage these funds.

Savings function characteristic of long-term types of life insurance, in which the insurance amount stipulated in the contract is accumulated and paid to the policyholder at the end of the insurance period, provided that there is no insured event during the validity of the insurance contract.

Preventive function displays relationships aimed at preventing possible losses and reducing their consequences from unfavorable insurance events. The implementation of this function involves a wide range of preventive and repressive measures, their financing from part of the insurance fund in order to reduce insurance risk.

Investment functioninsurance provides placement of temporarily free funds of the insurer in various assets on conditions of safety, repayment, profitability and diversification. Insurers, thanks to the specific nature of the redistribution of funds through the insurance method, have the opportunity to use and manage the accumulated funds of policyholders. These funds can be invested in the economy in the form of direct investment, through the stock market, or through financial intermediaries with the aim of making a profit.

Control functioninsurance is determined by the target orientation in the use and formation of insurance funds and reserves, which requires appropriate control. Financial control is exercised over the correct conduct of insurance and investment operations, the optimal formation and targeted use of insurance capital.

Insurance is based on fundamental principles , that is, the initial provisions that ensure its operation as an economic instrument. At the same time, insurance distinguishes general and specific principles (Fig. 13.2.).

General principles insurance:

The principle of free choice of insurer and type of insurance means that all policyholders are given the right and opportunity to choose any insurer that is licensed to provide insurance. Insurers are guaranteed a free choice of types of voluntary insurance and equal opportunities in carrying out their activities.

Principle of insurance risk – the probability of an insurance event occurring, which expresses the scope of the insurer's possible liability for a certain type of insurance. A specific manifestation of the realization of an insurance risk is an insured event, that is, the actual occurrence of an unforeseen event.

Rice. 13.2. Principles of insurance.

Principle of insurable interest means that the policyholder will enter into an insurance contract only if there is a corresponding interest in organizing protection in case of loss of property, health or life. This guarantees the receipt of certain income in the event of the occurrence of specially determined events.

The principle of utmost integrity is the principle of mutual truthfulness between the insurer and the policyholder. The policyholder must provide the insurer with all information about the object of insurance to assess the risk and determine the price of the insurance service, and the insurer is obliged to correctly determine the loss and pay insurance compensation.

The reality principle of insurance coverage provides for payment of compensation in the amount of actual loss. The implementation of this principle requires the creation of conditions under which the purpose of insurance is achieved, and for this it is necessary to adhere to specific principles of insurance.

Specific principles insurance are:

The principle of payment providing for the transfer of risk from the policyholder to the insurer for an appropriate fee.

Continuity principle means that in order to receive an insurance payment, a person must have a permanent insurance contract, since without it, the insurance payment will not be made.

Repayment principle provides that in the event of an insured event, insurance payments are returned to the policyholder in the form of insurance compensation (for risk insurance) or the insured amount (for life insurance).

The principle of diversification means the ability of an insurance company to carry out activities outside its main business. We are talking about the dispersion of risks taken for insurance according to territorial and industry characteristics, as well as about the investment activities of the insurer.

Franchise principle provides for the part of losses that, according to the insurance contract, is not compensated by the insurance company, that is, the insured’s own participation in compensation for losses. This principle is applied to avoid payment of small losses, create economic interest among policyholders, and protect insurers from abuses by policyholders.

Principle of subrogation means the transfer to the insurer who paid the insurance compensation of the right of claim (recourse) to the person responsible for the loss caused.

The principle of indemnity in accordance with which one insurance company requires another or other companies to distribute among themselves the payment of insurance compensation in the event of insuring the same object simultaneously by several companies against the same risks.

The principle of coinsurance and reinsurance used in insurance to ensure reliable insurance protection, solvency and financial stability of the insurer.

Principles of law are the basic principles (ideas) determined by the objective needs of the development of economic relations, which determine the essence and content of the structural elements of a particular branch of law, as well as activities for their legislative consolidation and implementation.

The following principles of insurance law can be distinguished:

The principle of existence of insurable interest. This principle is that insurable interest must be present at the time of conclusion of the contract or at the time of the occurrence of the insured event. It should be taken into account that Art. 928 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation contains a list of interests in respect of which insurance is not allowed. In addition, the objects of insurance cannot be the risk of liability for violation of the contract if this is not the risk of the policyholder himself (clause 2 of Article 932 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation); entrepreneurial risk of a person who is not an insured (Article 933 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation); the risk of loss (damage, destruction) of property if the insured has no interest in preserving this property.

The principle of risk insurance. Risk is the basis of insurance. The following criteria for risk insurability are distinguished: the random nature of the events that led to the occurrence of damage; the possibility of economic risk assessment; unambiguity of risk identification; homogeneity and multiplicity of risks; subjectivity of risk.

The principle of equivalence. This principle assumes that, during the insurance period, economic equality should be achieved between the total amount of insurance premium paid by a specific policyholder for the tariff period and the total amount of compensation paid by the insurer in connection with the occurrence of an insured event.

The principle of trust between the parties. This principle lies in the obligation of the parties to an insurance contract to disclose to each other all material circumstances relevant to a specific contract. Essential circumstances are those that are clearly indicated by the insurer in the standard form of the contract (insurance policy) or requested in writing. The consequences of non-compliance with this principle may lead to the insurer’s requirement to consider the insurance contract invalid (Clause 2 of Article 179 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

The principle of paying insurance compensation in the amount of actual loss. This principle means that the compensation paid by the insurer should return the insured who suffered the loss to exactly the same financial position as he was in before the loss occurred.

The principle of a cause-and-effect relationship between a loss and an insured event. The presence of such a connection is one of the essential conditions of the insurance contract and the basis for payment of insurance compensation.

The principle of indemnity. This principle prohibits the policyholder from receiving compensation for the same event twice or several times (Article 951 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). This principle is necessary when controlling the distribution of the amount of compensation between insurers in case of double and multiple insurance.

The principle of subrogation. Subrogation involves the transfer to the insurer, who paid compensation to the policyholder, of the right of claim within the amount paid, which the latter has to the culprit of the loss. Within the framework of this right, the policyholder is obliged to transfer to the insurer all documents and evidence, as well as to provide him with all the information necessary for the insurer to exercise the right of claim transferred to him.

According to Emelyanov A.S., this list of principles must be supplemented with the following principles of insurance law: firstly, the priority of voluntary insurance over compulsory insurance, while compulsory insurance is allowed in exceptional cases when the law imposes on the persons specified in it the obligation to insure as an insured life, health or property of third parties or their civil liability to third parties. This principle appeared in Russian insurance law not so long ago, with the entry into force of Chapter 48 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, according to which there is compulsory and voluntary insurance as its equal forms. The next principle of insurance law should be the principle of equality of legal regime for all subjects of insurance law. This principle means that no subject of insurance relations has any advantages over other subjects of insurance relations. One of the manifestations of this principle is that the rules on compulsory insurance equally apply to compulsory state insurance, for which the relevant executive authority is the insured. Also, Russian insurance legislation does not distinguish between relations when the insurers are private insurance companies and cases when the insurers are state or municipal organizations.

2. Forms and types of insurance.

Forms of insurance:

1. Mandatory form of insurance- is one of the forms of insurance and is regulated at the legislative level. Those. The state obliges individuals or legal entities to enter into a compulsory insurance agreement with an “insurer” company. Such insurance applies to cases where not only the interests of a particular person are affected, but also public interests. Moreover, in various cases established by law, payment of the insurance premium in this form of insurance can be carried out both at the expense of the state budget and at the expense of the policyholder. The main legal provisions for compulsory insurance are set out in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Part II, Chapter. 48 “Insurance” (articles: 927, 935, 936, 937, 969)

Mandatory types of insurance include:

· Compulsory medical insurance

· Compulsory auto insurance of civil liability

· Military insurance

Passenger insurance

· Professional liability insurance for certain professionals (e.g. notaries)

2. Voluntary form of insurance- a form of insurance based on voluntary choice. Here the policyholder himself decides whether he will enter into an insurance contract with the “insurer”, what he will insure, for how long and in which company. The insurance premium is paid from the policyholder's own funds only.

Voluntary types of insurance include:

· Voluntary health insurance

· Life insurance

· Property insurance

· Voluntary liability insurance

· Cargo insurance, etc.

types of insurance

3. Sources of insurance law.

Insurance law consists of many regulations, which in turn are aimed at regulating public relations in the field of insurance activities.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes basic provisions relating to insurance operations:

1) Law of the Russian Federation of November 27, 1992 No. 4015-1 “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation”; formulates basic concepts in the field of insurance activities: insurance and reinsurance, forms of insurance;

2) Code of Merchant Shipping of the Russian Federation dated April 30, 1999, which in Ch. 15 establishes the terms of the marine insurance contract;

3) Law of the Russian Federation of June 28, 1991 No. 1499-1 “On compulsory health insurance of citizens”; regulates the procedure for providing health insurance;

4) Federal Law of the Russian Federation of March 28, 1998 No. 52-FZ “On compulsory state insurance of life and health of military personnel, citizens called up for military training, private and commanding personnel of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation and employees of federal tax police bodies”;

5) Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of April 6, 1994 No. 667 “On the main directions of state policy in the field of compulsory insurance”; defines the basic principles for the implementation of a number of types of insurance carried out in a mandatory form;

6) The Tax Code of the Russian Federation regulates relations regarding the payment of taxes by participants in insurance markets.

By-laws also play an important role in regulating the legal relations of insurance activities. But in no case should they contradict, firstly, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and secondly, federal laws.

Insurance rules- this is a special type of local acts of the insurer, because if the insurance contract refers to the possibility of applying such rules, the latter are binding on the insured (beneficiary).

Local legal acts, as a rule, are issued by insurance organizations themselves to resolve internal issues, thus carrying out law-making activities that are aimed at regulating internal relations. As a second source of insurance law, business custom can be distinguished.

Custom- a meaningful concept, and it refers to both the custom itself and traditions and customs. Civil legislation uses a generic concept to designate the corresponding categories - “usually imposed requirements” (Articles 474, 478, 992 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

4. Mutual insurance - insurance by citizens and legal entities of their property and other property interests (risk of loss/destruction/, shortage or damage to certain property; risk of civil liability; business risk) on a mutual basis by combining societies V.s. the funds necessary for this (Article 968 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation*). Societies V.s. carry out insurance of property and other property interests of their members and are non-profit organizations. The features of their legal status and conditions of activity are determined in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the law on V.S.

Insurance by V.s. companies property and property interests of its members is carried out directly on the basis of membership, unless the constituent documents of the company provide for the conclusion of insurance contracts in these cases. The rules provided for in Ch. 48 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on insurance, apply to insurance relations between the company V.s. and its members, unless otherwise provided by the law on insurance, the constituent documents of the relevant company or the insurance rules established by it. Implementation of compulsory insurance through V.s. allowed in cases provided for by the law on V.s.

Society V.s. may, as an insurer, insure the interests of persons who are not members of the company, if such insurance activities are provided for by its constituent documents, the company is formed in the form of a commercial organization, has a permit (license) to carry out insurance of the appropriate type and meets other requirements established by the Law “On Organization insurance business in the Russian Federation"**. Insurance of the interests of persons who are not members of the V.s company is carried out by the company under insurance contracts in accordance with the rules provided for in Chapter. 48 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Mutual insurance is one of the organizational forms of insurance protection. Mutual insurance is based on an agreement within a group of individuals and legal entities to compensate for losses resulting from random events from the insurance fund, which is formed from contributions from mutual insurance participants. With mutual insurance, each policyholder is simultaneously a member of the insurance company. Mutual insurance as a method of creating insurance products [edit]

Mutual insurance is one of three known methods of creating insurance products (along with self-insurance and commercial insurance).

Characteristic signs mutual insurance method at the present stage of development:

· - pooling of financial resources by policyholders in a specially created insurer organization to insure their own property interests by sharing the damage among themselves;

· - formation of an insurance fund, jointly owned by all members, at the expense of their contributions;

· - the absence of each individual insured individual right to dispose of this fund and to use it;

· - the existence of rights and obligations for policyholders to participate in the management, disposal of this fund and the use of fund funds;

· - each of the insureds has financial liability for obligations related to the creation of insurance products at the expense of this fund;

· - distribution of financial responsibility for obligations related to the creation of insurance products between the insurer and its policyholders.

With mutual insurance, each person (legal or individual) combines its material resources with the resources of other persons who have a similar intention in relation to their own property interests to insure property interests. Such an association occurs on the basis of an agreement among its participants that, in order to create insurance products, they participate with their own funds in the formation of an insurance fund.

The right of ownership of each policyholder (i.e., each member of the created community) to the funds contributed to the fund is transformed into the right of joint ownership of the entire community of policyholders to the funds of this fund. This stipulates the right of each policyholder to participate in the creation of insurance products (i.e., in the formation, management and disposal of an insurance fund) together with other policyholders. The presence of these rights determines that each policyholder has responsibility for the insurance obligations of the community, which he bears jointly and severally with other policyholders (members of the community). Thus, principle of reciprocity manifests itself through mutual rights to the funds of the insurance fund and mutual responsibility for obligations associated with the use of these funds.

The peculiarity of the mutual insurance method is that the policyholder is both the buyer of the insurance service and a co-owner of the insurance fund created within the framework of a separate business entity providing mutual insurance. This feature is manifested, in particular, in the fact that the terms of the relationship between the insurer and policyholders can be formalized not in individual insurance contracts between the insurer and each of the policyholders, but in the insurer’s charter.

When using the mutual insurance method, the process of production of insurance products is managed on the basis of decisions made at a general meeting of policyholders or their representatives. Responsibility for the fulfillment of obligations for insurance payments lies primarily with the insurer represented by a mutual insurance organization. However, if the funds of an already formed insurance fund are not enough to fulfill insurance obligations, all members of such an organization (they are also policyholders) jointly and severally bear subsidiary liability for its obligations.

Mutual insurance is called non-commercial in Russian insurance science and in Russian legislation because policyholders, who are co-owners of a fund of funds, participate in its creation not for the purpose of making a profit on the invested capital, but for the purpose of creating an insurance product for themselves. However, if as a result of the activities of a mutual insurance organization there is an excess of income over expenses, the directions for spending such excess are determined by the general meeting of policyholders - members of this organization. As a rule, such funds are spent to achieve the statutory goals of the organization.

Historical and modern foreign and domestic practice shows that the mutual insurance method is the basis for the activities of mutual insurance organizations, which have various organizational and legal forms. Unlike the self-insurance method, with mutual insurance the insurance product is created not by one policyholder for his own use, but by a community of policyholders for use by those members who have the right to do so in accordance with previously reached agreements. Accordingly, with mutual insurance, the policyholder is not at the same time as an insurer. The insurer is a mutual insurance organization registered in a certain organizational and legal form.

All of the above relates exclusively to such mutual insurance organizations (in particular, mutual insurance companies) that provide insurance only to their members.

The definition of mutual insurance as a method of creating insurance products that has the above-mentioned characteristic features allows us to understand why in foreign practice mutual insurance includes the activities of not only mutual insurance companies, but also a number of other organizations (insurance cooperatives, sickness funds, property and liability insurance clubs shipowners (P&I Clubs) and some others). Also, this selection allows us to understand why it was active in the Russian Empire from 1866 to 1917. Zemstvo insurance was called mutual.

Development of mutual insurance as a method of creating insurance products [edit]

At the initial stages of historical development, this method was used in the form folding insurance system, at later stages - in the form insurance systems with the preliminary creation of an insurance fund.
The spread-out insurance system is the primary, most primitive type of mutual insurance method. Under this system, the loss was compensated to the victim not from a pre-formed insurance fund, but through a special distribution between members of the community of insurers, made after the loss occurred, in proportion to the value of their property.
The distribution of damage under this system was carried out among all members of a certain community (for example, participants in a merchant caravan) in accordance with their preliminary agreement. The circumstances of compensation for damage that could be caused to one of them, the proportion of participation in the formation of a monetary insurance fund intended for such compensation, were determined in advance. The actual amount of contribution to this fund was calculated only after the occurrence of the insured event. The process of creating insurance products in such a primitive way in the early stages of its development had a number of distinctive features:
1. the acquisition of the right to receive an insurance product (i.e. to receive compensation for damage that may occur in the future) was not supported by a monetary contribution. In fact, community members created an insurance product at the time of compensation for losses to one of the community members.
2. The folding system was not associated with the activities of any specialized business entity. Since there was no formation of a special fund of material goods in advance, there was no need for an organization that would specialize in the creation of insurance products.
3. Members of the policyholder community showed entrepreneurial initiative aimed at realizing the need for the insurance product necessary for each of them. This initiative consisted in the fact that they created an insurance product not alone, each for himself (as in self-insurance), but together with other persons who had a similar need.
4. all members of the policyholder community were jointly responsible for creating an insurance product for each of them upon the occurrence of pre-agreed circumstances.
5. the actual distribution of damage between policyholders was determined only after the occurrence of the insured event.
As economic relations developed, potential insurers began to unite into long-term communities, which could use not only the layout system, but also a system with the preliminary creation of an insurance fund as the basis of their activities.
An insurance system with the preliminary creation of an insurance fund is a type of mutual insurance method, more advanced than the layout system.
When using a system with the preliminary creation of an insurance fund, there is a need for a specialized organization whose responsibilities include collecting contributions, preserving the funds of the insurance fund, and organizing the payment of insurance compensation. The management of such an organization is carried out on the basis of decisions made by the general meeting of its member insurers or their representatives. Thus, the right of policyholders making contributions to the insurance fund to jointly own the funds of this fund is manifested. Insureds are also jointly and severally liable for the fulfillment of insurance payment obligations to the injured community member. If the funds collected in advance are insufficient to pay insurance compensation for all insured events, policyholders - members of a mutual insurance organization themselves make a decision on further actions. There may be two solutions:
1. reduce the amount of insurance compensation proportionally for all insured events;
2. contribute together the missing amount of funds.

Question 5 insurance reserves

To ensure the fulfillment of insurance and reinsurance obligations, insurers, in the manner established by the regulatory legal act of the insurance regulatory body, form insurance reserves (Article 26 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation”). Funds from insurance reserves are used exclusively for making insurance payments; they are not subject to withdrawal to the federal budget and budgets of other levels of the budget system of the Russian Federation. Insurers have the right to invest and otherwise place funds from insurance reserves in the manner established by the regulatory legal act of the insurance regulatory body (Rosstrakhnadzor). The placement of insurance reserves must be carried out on the terms of diversification, repayment, profitability and liquidity.

When insuring objects of personal insurance, namely life insurance (in accumulative types of insurance), the insurer has the right to provide the policyholder - an individual with a loan within the limits of the insurance reserve formed under an insurance contract concluded for a period of at least 5 years. An insurance organization has the right to form a preventive measures fund in order to finance measures to prevent the occurrence of insured events (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated April 15, 2002 No. 24–00/KP-51 “On the reserve of preventive measures”).

The composition and procedure for the formation of insurance reserves are defined in the Rules for the formation of insurance reserves for insurance other than life insurance (approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated June 11, 2002 No. 51n). These Rules do not apply to medical insurance organizations regarding compulsory medical insurance operations.

The calculation of insurance reserves is carried out by the insurer on the basis of the Regulations on the formation of insurance reserves for insurance other than life insurance.

Each specific insurer is obliged to develop and approve such a Regulation and submit it to the Federal Insurance Supervision Service. The Federal Insurance Supervision Service has developed an approximate Regulation on the formation of insurance reserves for insurance other than life insurance (Appendix to the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 18, 2002 No. 24–08/13), on the basis of which insurers are developing their Regulations.

Insurers form insurance reserves for the following types of insurance(“other than life insurance”, since life insurance has different provisions and rules):

1. accident insurance;

2. voluntary health insurance;

3. medical insurance for citizens traveling abroad;

4. aircraft insurance;

5. combined motor vehicle insurance;

6. insurance of buildings and apartments owned by citizens;

7. insurance of space rockets;

8. financial risk insurance;

9. auditors' liability insurance.

The rules for the formation of insurance reserves for insurance other than life insurance establish the composition and procedure for the formation of insurance reserves (calculation (assessment) of the value of insurance reserves, which are an assessment of the insurer’s obligations expressed in monetary form to ensure future insurance payments) under insurance contracts, co-insurance and contracts adopted in reinsurance related to insurance other than life insurance. Insurance reserves include:

1. non-earning bonus reserve (RNB);

2. loss reserves;

3. reserve for declared but unresolved losses (RLU);

4. reserve for occurred but unreported losses (IBNR);

5. stabilization reserve (SR);

6. loss equalization reserve for compulsory civil liability insurance of vehicle owners (loss equalization reserve);

7. reserve for compensation of expenses for insurance payments for compulsory civil liability insurance of vehicle owners in subsequent years (stabilization reserve for compulsory civil liability insurance for vehicle owners);

8. other insurance reserves (clause 6 of the Rules).

Unearned premium reserve- this is the part of the accrued insurance premium (contributions) under the contract relating to the period of validity of the contract beyond the reporting period (unearned premium), intended to fulfill obligations to ensure future payments that may arise in subsequent reporting periods.

Reserve for reported but unresolved losses is an assessment of the insurer’s obligations to make insurance payments not fulfilled or not fully fulfilled as of the reporting date (end of the reporting period), including the amount of funds necessary for the insurer to pay for expert, consulting or other services related to assessing the amount and reducing damage (harm), damage to the property interests of the insured (expenses for the settlement of losses) arising in connection with insured events, the occurrence of which was notified to the insurer in the reporting or preceding periods in accordance with the procedure established by law or contract.

Reserve for incurred but unreported losses, is an assessment of the insurer’s obligations to make insurance payments, including expenses for settling losses arising in connection with insured events that occurred in the reporting or preceding periods, the occurrence of which was not reported to the insurer in the reporting or preceding periods in the manner prescribed by law or contract.

Stabilization reserve is an assessment of the insurer's obligations related to the implementation of future insurance payments in the event of a negative financial result from insurance operations as a result of factors beyond the will of the insurer, or in the event of an excess of the loss ratio over its average value.

The coefficient of incurred losses is calculated as the ratio of the amount of insurance payments made in the reporting period for insured events that occurred during this period, the reserve for declared but unresolved losses and the reserve for occurred but unreported losses calculated for losses that occurred in this reporting period to the amount of earned insurance bonuses for the same period.

Loss equalization reserve is formed during the first three years from the date of introduction of compulsory civil liability insurance of vehicle owners (i.e. from July 1, 2003) and is an assessment of the insurer’s obligations related to the implementation of future insurance payments in the event of an excess of the coefficient of losses that have occurred above its calculated value.

The stabilization reserve for compulsory civil liability insurance of vehicle owners is formed to compensate the insurer's expenses for making insurance payments in subsequent years when implementing compulsory civil liability insurance for vehicle owners and is an assessment of the insurer's obligations associated with making future insurance payments in the event of a negative financial result from carrying out compulsory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners as a result of factors beyond the control of the insurer.

The insurer calculates insurance reserves as of the reporting date (end of the reporting period) when preparing financial statements.

The calculation of insurance reserves is made on the basis of the insurer's accounting and reporting data, based on the information contained in the following journals that the Insurer is obliged to maintain:

1. Log book of concluded insurance contracts (co-insurance);

2. Journal of losses and early terminated insurance contracts (co-insurance);

3. Log book of contracts accepted for reinsurance;

4. Journal of losses under contracts accepted for reinsurance.

The insurer calculates the share of participation of reinsurers in insurance reserves for insurance other than life insurance, simultaneously with the calculation of insurance reserves. In this case, the share of the reinsurer (reinsurers) is determined for each agreement (group of agreements) in accordance with the terms of the reinsurance agreement (agreements).

Documents containing the data necessary to calculate insurance reserves for each reporting date for each contract must be stored by the insurer for at least 5 years from the date of full fulfillment of obligations under the contract.

To calculate insurance reserves, contracts are distributed according to the following accounting groups:

• accounting group 1. Insurance (co-insurance) against accidents and illnesses;
• accounting group 2. Voluntary health insurance (co-insurance);
• accounting group 3. Insurance (co-insurance) of passengers (tourists, excursionists);
• accounting group 4. Insurance (co-insurance) of citizens traveling abroad;
• accounting group 5. Insurance (co-insurance) of ground transport;
• accounting group 6. Insurance (co-insurance) of air transport;
• accounting group 7. Insurance (co-insurance) of water transport;
• accounting group 8. Cargo insurance (co-insurance);
• accounting group 9. Insurance (co-insurance) of goods in the warehouse;
• accounting group 10. Insurance (co-insurance) of agricultural crops;
• accounting group 11. Insurance (co-insurance) of property other than those listed in accounting groups 5-10, 12;
• accounting group 12. Insurance (co-insurance) of business (financial) risks;
• accounting group 13. Voluntary insurance (co-insurance) of civil liability of vehicle owners;
• accounting group 13.1. Compulsory insurance (co-insurance) of civil liability of vehicle owners;
• accounting group 14. Insurance (co-insurance) of civil liability of the carrier;
• accounting group 15. Insurance (co-insurance) of civil liability of owners of sources of increased danger, except for that specified in accounting group 13;
• accounting group 16. Insurance (co-insurance) of professional liability;
• accounting group 17. Insurance (co-insurance) of liability for failure to fulfill obligations;
• accounting group 18. Insurance (co-insurance) of liability, except for what is listed in accounting groups 13–17;
• accounting group 19. Contracts accepted for reinsurance, except for reinsurance contracts, in accordance with the terms of which the reinsurer has an obligation to compensate for pre-established liability (clause 14 of the Rules).

Question 9 ​ Objects and subjects of insurance: general characteristics.

The subjects of the insurance legal relationship include: the insurer, the policyholder, special third parties (the insured and the beneficiary: the insured can be any person entering into the contract or appointed by him (in case of insurance of children), and the beneficiary is the heir or the appointed person in whose favor the contract was concluded). The parties to the insurance contract are the insurer and the policyholder.

Insurers can be both state and private insurance companies. The largest state insurance company in the Russian Federation is Rosgosstrakh, the founder and holder of 100% of the shares is the State Committee of the Russian Federation for State Property Management.

Foreign legal entities and foreign citizens have the right to create insurance organizations on the territory of the Russian Federation only in the form of limited liability companies or joint stock companies. But the possibility of participation is limited by the legislation of the Russian Federation - the share of foreign investors in the authorized capital of an insurance organization should not exceed 49% in total (clause 5 of the resolution of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on the implementation of the Law “On Insurance”). Legislative acts may establish other restrictions when creating insurance organizations by foreign legal entities and individuals.

Licenses to carry out insurance activities are issued by the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Insurance Activities.

Citizens and legal entities can unite in mutual insurance societies to insure their property interests (Article 968 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The Civil Code recognizes mutual insurance societies as non-profit organizations. At present, the most acceptable organizational and legal form for such societies is a consumer cooperative, which does not exclude the possibility of creation in other forms. Mutual insurance societies, insurance unions, and clubs are widespread in various countries. Such societies existed in Russia before the revolution.

Insurance pool - this is an association of insurance companies for joint insurance of certain risks, created with the aim of improving the financial capabilities for taking particularly large risks; have been developed abroad in the insurance of aviation, nuclear, military risks, liability, etc. This seems very promising for Russia.

The subjects of insurance activities include insurance intermediaries - agents and brokers, through whom insurers can carry out their activities. Insurance agents - individuals or legal entities acting on behalf of the insurer and on its behalf in accordance with the powers granted. Individuals occupy a predominant place among insurance agents. Insurance brokers - legal entities or individuals registered in the prescribed manner as entrepreneurs, performing insurance intermediary activities on their own behalf on the basis of instructions from the policyholder or insurer.

The legal status of insurance agents and brokers is different. An insurance agent acts on behalf of the company, is its representative, acts within the powers granted to him, receiving an appropriate commission. An insurance broker is an independent entity that performs intermediary functions between the policyholder and the insurer, acting on its own behalf, but always on behalf of the policyholder or the insurance company.

Policyholders legal entities and capable individuals who have entered into insurance contracts with insurers or are policyholders by virtue of the law are recognized. Attention should be paid to a number of special requirements, as a rule, imposed on the legal personality of policyholders. They relate to age and health status.

According to the Rules of Mixed Life Insurance, which regulate personal insurance relations with the participation of a state insurance organization, the subjects of this contract can be citizens aged 14 to 77 years, but no later than they reach 80 years of age at the end of the contract. The age of a citizen acts not only as a determining criterion, but is also a certain criterion for establishing the insurance period, as well as the amount of insurance premiums, and the ratio of the age of individuals, the insurance period and the amount of the insurance premium depends on the period.

Policyholders can be Russian citizens, foreign citizens, stateless persons, any commercial and non-commercial legal entities (Article 5 of the Law “On the Organization of Insurance Business in the Russian Federation”). The policyholder can be a person who has an insurable interest, i.e. interest in preserving property or life, health, which is of a proprietary nature. The owner and other legal owners of the property (tenant, mortgagee, forwarder, etc.) usually have insurable interest.

The concepts of the parties to the insurance contract and the participants in the insurance legal relationship do not always coincide. The parties are the policyholder and the insurer, who are bound by rights and obligations. Participants in the insurance legal relationship can be two more categories of persons: the insured and the person appointed by the policyholder to receive the insured amount under the insurance contract - the beneficiary.

The insured is an individual with whose life, health or ability to work the policyholder associates the interest provided by the insurance. As a rule, citizens enter into insurance legal relations in order to protect their property interests, concluding an agreement in case of possible adverse consequences associated with their own life and health. In this case, the concepts of the policyholder and the insured coincide. At the same time, citizens have the right to conclude an insurance contract in favor of another person, then the policyholder and the insured are different persons. For example, when insuring children, the insured are parents, adoptive parents, guardians, trustees, and the insured are children. Execution of a contract in favor of a third party (the insured) can be demanded by both the person who entered into the contract (the policyholder) and the third party in whose favor the performance is stipulated (Article 430 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

When concluding an insurance contract, the policyholder has the right to appoint individuals or legal entities (beneficiaries) to receive insurance payments under insurance contracts, as well as replace them at his discretion before the occurrence of an insured event (Part 3 of Article 5 of the Law “On the Organization of Insurance Business in the Russian Federation” ).

In property insurance, the insurance object is the interests associated with the ownership and disposal of property; their legality in property insurance contracts is determined by law, contract or other legal grounds. If there is a conflict of interests between the owner and another person (or group of persons) who have proprietary rights in relation to the insured property interest, the legitimacy of the latter as an object of insurance is determined by the obligations to bear the risk during the period of validity of the insurance contract.

In liability insurance, the object of insurance is property interests associated with compensation by the insured for harm caused to the person or property of an individual, as well as harm caused to a legal entity (liability insurance).

In personal insurance, these are property interests related to health, life, disability and retirement, including temporary or permanent loss of income or additional expenses due to disability, illness or death. In personal insurance contracts concluded for the insurance of third parties, the legality of the property interest follows from the legal relationship between the policyholder and the insured, which are regulated by family, labor law or in other cases provided for by law.

Legal basis [edit]

It is the property interest that is indicated as the object of insurance in all regulatory acts of the Russian Federation. For example, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Chapter 48, Art. 928) lists interests the insurance of which is not allowed (illegal interests, losses from games, lotteries and bets, expenses for the ransom of hostages). Article 929 of the Civil Code lists property interests that can be insured under a property insurance contract (“the risk of loss (destruction), shortage or damage to certain property; the risk of liability for obligations arising from causing harm to the life, health or property of other persons, and in cases provided by law, also liability under contracts - the risk of civil liability; the risk of losses from business activities due to violation of their obligations by the entrepreneur’s counterparties or changes in the conditions of this activity due to circumstances beyond the control of the entrepreneur, including the risk of non-receipt of expected income - business risk"). . And Article 942, listing the essential terms of the insurance contract, first of all indicates that an agreement must be reached between the policyholder and the insurer “on certain property or other property interest that is the object of insurance.” How property interests are interpreted by the insurance object and the law “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation”

In the process of establishing market relations in Russia, new types of commercial activities appeared that were not sufficiently widespread during the years of Soviet power. These include, in particular, the insurance business.

Insurance organizations, without creating a new product, actively participate in the process of its redistribution. Due to the accumulation and use of funds collected from all insurance participants, in each individual case, insurance organizations assume obligations to provide insurance coverage in an amount significantly exceeding the corresponding insurance premium.

In addition, having large volumes of temporarily free funds collected in insurance reserves, insurance organizations are engaged not only in insurance, but also investment and financial activities.

In other words, huge financial resources circulate in this area of ​​the economy, and insurance organizations are essentially turning into complex financial and credit institutions that have their own industry specifics. Therefore, let us first consider the generally accepted concepts and definitions that are used in the insurance industry.

Economic risk. In everyday life, the word “risk” is used as a concept meaning the likelihood of destruction, loss and damage. Concept "economic risk" means the uncertain possibility of destruction, loss and damage expressed in monetary terms. In order to reduce financial losses associated with economic risk, financial protection systems are created. Insurance is one of the main financial institutions whose goal is to reduce losses associated with economic risk.

Insurance as a financial protection system. Insurance is a system of economic relations based on the unification of the economic risk of individual subjects and created with the aim of reducing financial losses associated with it. It is carried out at the expense of monetary funds formed from insurance premiums paid by individuals and legal entities.

Basic principles of insurance organization. Like any complex type of activity, insurance has its own internal logic, most clearly expressed in its principles. Compliance with the following principles determines the economic and organizational mechanism of insurance - insurance participants make small contributions so that the total amount in the form of an insurance fund is enough to pay those insurance participants with whom insured events occurred.

The principle of taking into account the psychological factor. Most people give preference to known but small losses over unknown but possibly large losses. People agree to lose a certain part of their income as a payment for not encountering unknown situations that can lead to large economic losses.

The principle of combining economic risk. Each of the insurance participants transfers its responsibility for bearing an individual risk to the insurance pool - the insurer, at the level of which these individual risks are combined.

The principle of solidarity, distribution of damage. All insurance participants pay insurance premiums, and at the expense of a certain part of these contributions, the insurance funds of the insurance organization are formed. The funds from these funds are used to cover damage and losses arising from the occurrence of insured events.

Each insurance participant pays a relatively small insurance premium, but loses it if nothing happens. However, if an insured event does occur, he receives greater financial compensation - several times larger than the insurance premium he paid. Solidarity is manifested in the fact that the insurance payment to an individual participant upon the occurrence of an insured event consists of the insurance premiums of all insurance participants, regardless of whether an insured event occurred with each of them or not.

The principle of financial equivalence. Its compliance means that all funds collected from all insurance participants over a certain period and intended to compensate for damage must be returned in the form of insurance payments for the same period.

Insurer is a legal entity created to carry out insurance activities, which, if it has a license for this type of activity, enters into an insurance contract and assumes responsibility for bearing the risk, i.e., assumes the obligation to compensate for damage.

Policyholder is a legal or legally capable individual who has entered into an insurance contract with the insurer and pays him insurance fee (insurance premium ) for the transfer of responsibility for bearing the risk.

Insured. This term has specific application by type of insurance.

In personal insurance insured is an individual whose life, health and ability to work are the object of insurance protection. Thus, when insuring against accidents and illnesses, the insured is the subject whose accident and illness are insured events of the insurance contract, i.e., events during the implementation of which the insurer makes insurance payments.

In property and liability insurance insured - is an individual or legal entity in respect of whom an insurance contract has been concluded. Thus, when insuring household property, the insured person is the person whose property insurance agreement has been concluded.

Beneficiary- is an individual or legal entity appointed by the policyholder to receive insurance payments under insurance contracts.

Insurance risk. This term in insurance can have different meanings, including as: 1) an assumed probable event or set of events in the event of which insurance is carried out (insurance risk - theft); 2) a specific object of insurance (insurance risk - ship); 3) insurance valuation, which is understood as the cost of the object taken into account when insuring; 4) the probability of an insured event occurring (insurance risk is the probability of an insured event occurring, i.e., damage, equal to 0.02).

Insurance event- this is an event specified in the insurance contract, regarding the occurrence of which the contract was concluded.

Insurance case- this is an accomplished event provided for by law (for compulsory insurance) or an insurance contract (for voluntary insurance), upon the occurrence of which and compliance with the terms of the contract, the insurer is obliged to make an insurance payment.

Insurable interest- this is an economic need, an interest in insurance. It is due to a decrease in external guarantees of financial protection of an individual entity or group of entities, the risky nature of social production, as well as the desire for insurance protection of property, income, life, health, and ability to work.

Insurance liability— the insurer’s obligation to pay insurance compensation or insurance coverage in the event of specified consequences of insured events that have occurred.

Sum insured— this is a monetary assessment of insurable interest and insurance liability, i.e. an assessment of the maximum amount of the insurer’s obligations for insurance payments.

Insurance premium (insurance premium)- this is an insurance fee (insured's contribution), intended for the formation of an insurance fund and paid by force of law for compulsory insurance or under the terms of a contract and voluntary insurance.

Insurance rate- this is the insurance premium rate or the insurance premium (insurance premium) expressed in rubles, paid per unit of insurance amount, usually equal to 100 rubles.

Insurance fund of an insurance organization- a fund formed within an insurance organization at the expense of insurance premiums for the purposes of insurance payments.

Insurance payment- this is the amount of money paid by the insurer to the policyholder (the insured, the beneficiary) under the terms of the insurance contract upon the occurrence of an insured event.

Insurance security— insurance payment in personal insurance.

Insurance compensation— insurance payment in property insurance and liability insurance.

Agreement voluntary insurance- a legal form that serves the purpose of forming insurance funds of insurance organizations at the expense of the funds of policyholders.

Insurance policy or insurance certificate— a document of an established form, which is issued by the insurer to the policyholder (the insured) and certifies the fact of concluding an insurance contract.

Validity insurance contract— the time provided for by the terms of insurance, during which the insurer’s insurance liability is valid, i.e., its obligation to make an insurance payment upon the occurrence of an insured event. There are short-term insurance contracts, the validity of which does not exceed one year, and long-term contracts, the validity of which is at least one year.

Cash turnover of an insurance organization. Its essence is that money is put into circulation and brings a certain income. There are two basic rules for the circulation of funds, which are based on simple and compound interest schemes, respectively. According to the simple interest scheme, the initial capital is S rub. with an annual return g% in t years will turn into the amount S(1 + g. t) rub. According to the compound interest scheme, the amount of accumulated capital will be S(l + g) t rub. Note that, if the rule for the turnover of funds is not specifically stated, money is put into circulation according to the compound interest scheme.

Reinsurance there is a system of risk redistribution between insurers, in which the first (direct) insurer accepts all the risk from the insured on its own responsibility, and subsequently redistributes it between itself and other insurers. When an insured event occurs, the damage is compensated by the first (direct) insurer, after which the remaining insurers compensate him (the direct insurer) for the damage in accordance with the terms of the reinsurance agreement.