عقد التأمين المضاعف (دراسة مقارنة)

Double Insurance Contract (A comparative study)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the insurance contract is its social role, which leads to a state of tranquility and reassurance among individuals in their commercial and civil lives. Therefore, many legislations have focused on organizing this contract and clarifying its details, including definition and provisions, and making it one of the contracts named in civil laws or special laws bearing the name of the contract itself. However, the concern of fraud remains a source of concern for many insureds, fearing that the insurance contract will be exploited by the insured. What reinforces this concern is the possibility of the latter obtaining more than one insurance policy to compensate for his potential loss from the occurrence of the insured risk on his insured goods under those multiple policies, known as double insurance. Double insurance is a term used when the insured concludes two or more insurance contracts with multiple insurers for the same risks and the same insured items. The Iraqi legislator dealt with this case under the Ottoman Marine Insurance Law, which included an interpretative text that ruled the invalidity of contracts that follow the insured’s satisfaction with compensation for his potential losses from the occurrence of the insured risk. However, although it ruled the invalidity of subsequent contracts in double insurance concluded by the insured, and it may seem at first glance that the matter is settled under this law, the text came as an interpretation that can be agreed upon otherwise, on the one hand, and on the other hand, this text is one of the oldest legislative texts and may not keep pace with the developments occurring in the world of insurance, which is what prompted other comparative legislations to take a different approach; the specific nature of the insurance contract and the principles that govern it, according to the other insurance law, should help in following the purpose of the legislation. The issue of double insurance has raised various questions about how to deal with potential losses and the responsibilities of insurance companies among themselves. Some believe that insurance companies should bear certain responsibilities in the case of double insurance. However, it seems that dividing the obligation among insurance companies has no specific basis and will cause difficulties for the insured in compensation. This contradicts the purpose of insurance, which is to compensate the insured or beneficiary in the easiest way. Therefore, in the event of a loss, the insured can refer to one of the insurance companies according to any of the multiple documents to obtain full compensation. The insurance company should be responsible for the loss according to its obligation under the document it issues and cannot refuse responsibility based on the case of double insurance or the existence of another insurance. It must be noted that there is no specific order when requesting compensation from one of the insurers, but the insurer who provides the compensation must be able to review the other insurers and the insured must assist him in achieving this matter