Part I: Externalities and economic policies in road transport

Road transport imposes negative externalities on society. These externalities include environmental and road damage, accidents, congestion, and oil dependence. The cost of these externalities to society is in general not reflected in the current market prices in the road transport sector.An efficient mobility model for the future must take into account the true costs of transport and its regulatory framework will need to create incentives for people to make sustainable transport choices. This paper discusses the use of economic instruments to correct road transport externalities, but gives relatively more weight to the problem of carbon emissions from road transport, as this is particularly challenging, given its global and long-term nature.Economics offers two types of instruments for addressing the problem of transport externalities: command-and-control and incentive-based policies.Command-and-control policies are government regulations which force consumers and producers to change their behaviour. They are the most widely used policy instruments. Examples include vehicle emission and fuel standards in the US as well as driving or parking restrictions in Singapore. The implementation cost of these instruments to the government is small. Although from an economic perspective these policies often fail to achieve an efficient market outcome, the presence of political constraints often make them the preferred option, in terms of feasibility and effectiveness.Economic theory shows how policies, which affect consumption and production incentives, can be used to achieve the optimal outcome in the presence of externalities. Incentive-based policies function within a new or an altered market. We first examine incentive-based policies, which cap the aggregate amount of the externality, such as carbon emissions, by allocating permits or rights to the emitters. The emitters are then free to trade their permits amongst them. The permit allocation mechanism is important-although market efficiency would be satisfied by an auction, political influences usually favour a proportional allocation based on historic emissions. We discuss EU ETS as an example of a cap-and-trade system, however, no such policy for CO₂ emissions in road transport has been implemented anywhere in the world to date.Fiscal instruments are, like command-and-control, widely used in road transport, because they are relatively cheap and simple to implement. They include the use of taxes and charges in order to bridge the gap between private and the social costs and, in principle, can lead to an efficient market solution. Registration, ownership, fuel, emissions, usage taxes, and parking and congestion charges have been implemented in many countries around the world. On the other side of the spectrum, subsidies can be given to those scrapping old cars and buying fuel-efficient vehicles. Some cities, such as London, have implemented congestion charges and many states in the United States have introduced high occupancy lanes. Other interesting possibilities include pay-as-you-drive insurance and other usage charges. However, the size and scope of taxes and subsidies are determined by governments, and because of their imperfect knowledge of the market the outcome is still likely to be inefficient.Governments have many effective economic instruments to create a sustainable road transport model. These instruments can be used separately or together, but their implementation will be necessary in the nearest future.     

海上保险法中委付制度新探

对委付的概念、前提、客体、成立和效力进行了分析,提出委付概念应限于被保险人转移保险标的权利义务于保险人,转移保险标的权利与否不是被保险人获得索赔全损权利的前提;委付通知是被保险人的要约,委付由保险人承诺而成立;委付客体应包括船舶、货物等;接受委付后,保险人从第三人处获得的赔偿超出其所做赔付的,应当返还给被保险人。     

对协会船舶定期保险条款与定期保险限制条件条款中“污染危险”条款的理解

对协会船舶定期保险条款和协会船舶定期保险限制条件条款的“污染危险”条款进行了分析,在此基础上,对其中“governmental authority acting”,“under the powers vested in it”,“any”及“provided”等进行了阐释。     

海上保险“仓至仓”责任期间的思考

文中就海上保险“仓至仓”责任期间的起点和终点进行了分析，笔者认为，在海上货物运输保险中，一切险的保险人“仓至仓”责任期间，应起始于被保险货物运离保险单所栽明的起运地仓库或储存处所开始运输之时，而非海运的前一段陆路运输开始之际；终止于货物到达保险单所载明目的地被保险人在桌一处所实际分配、分派货物之时，而非终止于货物到达该处所之际。     

Semi-autonomous vehicle motor insurance: A Bayesian Network risk transfer approach

All developed economies mandate at least third party auto insurance resulting inW a vast global liability industry. The evolution towards semi-autonomous and eventually driverless vehicles will progressively remove the leading cause of vehicle accidents, human error, and significantly lower vehicle accident rates. However, this transition will force a departure from existing actuarial methods requires careful management to ensure risks are correctly assigned. Personal motor insurance lines are anticipated to diminish as liability shifts towards OEMs, tier 1 and 2 suppliers and software developers. Vehicle accident risks will hinge on vehicular characteristics in addition to driver related risks as drivers alternate between autonomous and manual driving modes. This paper proposes a Bayesian Network statistical risk estimation approach that can accommodate changing risk levels and the emergence of new risk structures. We demonstrate the use of this method for a Level 3 semi-autonomous vehicle for two scenarios, one where the driver is in control and one where the vehicle is in control. This approach is especially suited to use telematics data generated from the vehicle inherent technologies. We validate the efficacy of this approach from the perspective of the insurer and discuss how vehicle technology development will require a greater degree of collaboration between the insurance company and the manufacturers in order to develop a greater understanding of the risks semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles.     

浅论油污强制责任保险扩大化的必要性和作用

随着我国经济的发展和经济全球化的加快,我国的航运业务激增,船舶油污事件发生的几率也相应地提高。当前沿海或内河液体货物危险品运输实行油污强制责任保险制度的呼声很高。本文将对海上油污强制责任保险扩大化的必要性和作用进行分析。     

对国际货运代理业实行责任保险制度的探讨

中国商务部《国际货物运输代理业管理规定实施细则》(尚未实施)规定国际货运代理企业实行责任保险制度。国际货运代理责任保险分为国际货运代理人责任险和国际货运代理提单责任险。这对于提升整个货运代理行业服务水平,降低行业经营风险意义重大。本文就国际货运代理业责任保险的含义及实行责任保险制度的必要性进行阐述,并就国际货运代理业责任保险的强制性和相关问题提出个人观点。     

论人身保险的保险利益

分析了人身保险保险利益的概念和特征,强调人身保险合同订立时,必须存在人身上的保险利益,否则合同无效。与财产保险的保险利益相比,其保险利益的范围更广泛,要求更严格。指出了各国保险立法关于人身保险保险利益的三种不同的确认原则和方法,分析利益原则、同意原则以及利益和同意兼顾的原则。我国《保险法》对人身保险保险利益的确定,采取利益主义和同意主义相结合的原则。人身保险保险利益的形式有二种情形：一是对投保人有利益关系的人;二是依投保人同意而产生的保险利益。本文旨在通过现行保险法中关于人身保险保险利益的立法研究,探索我国立法的得失,以完善我国的保险立法。     

论“仓至仓”条款保险责任的开始

＂仓至仓＂条款是协会货物保险条款关于海上货物保险责任期间的一个标准条款,然而在海上保险法律、法规已经相对健全的今天,关于该条款下保险人责任何时开始依然存在广泛的争议。这主要是因为本条款表述过于宽泛模糊,又缺少相关解释条款造成的。笔者从协会货物条款的规定入手,结合实务中习惯做法与法律、法规进行分析、比较、归纳,力争探索出一些既有法律依据,又便于实际操作的方法来解决协会货物保险条款中保险责任开始的相关规定存在的问题。     

论非保险责任范围内赔付下的代位求偿权

就非保险责任范围内赔付下保险人的代位求偿权从其性质、立法目的以及诉讼经济的角度进行理论性的探讨,得出保险人在非保险责任赔付下仍然可以取得代位求偿权的结论。并从立法的角度,对我国《海商法》相关规定提出了修改建议。