論我國寵物保險制度之現況與未來展望

Abstract

鑒於我國近年來寵物登記數持續上升，每年新增數量已突破20萬，寵物所衍生相關危險之重要性亦隨之提升。然而，若和我國目前寵物相關保險制度相互比較之下，部分潛在風險仍未納入保險制度之保障範圍，則就現未涵蓋之部分，將來是否有機會透過保險制度進行風險分擔與補償，即屬值得討論之問題。

若未來擬建立目前實務較為少見，以寵物死亡作為保險事故之保險商品，則須依其欲填補之損害類型而設計不同之制度架構。若為填補飼主非財產上之損害，應著重道德風險之防治，如透過契約成立之詢問事項避免重複投保、嚴格化要保人之資格要件及設有給付金額上限等手段，避免寵物淪為保險制度之受害對象；若為填補財產上損害者，除應注意道德風險與動物福祉外，亦應兼顧保險法理上如「利得禁止原則」等基本原則之適用，以確保制度之正當性與可行性。

此外，面對逐漸增長之寵物數量，亦可推行強制寵物責任保險制度，短期層面可透過課予飼主投保義務之方式，令其購買現行市場上已有之商業保險，以提升制度覆蓋率；長期發展而言，則可重新設計政策性保險，以加強保護第三人為方向設計相關制度，進一步完善體系。

In view of the steadily increasing number of registered pets in Taiwan in recent years—now surpassing 200,000 new registrations annually—the importance of addressing the risks associated with pet ownership has also grown accordingly. However, when compared with the current pet-related insurance system in Taiwan, certain potential risks remain outside the scope of insurance protection. Therefore, whether these currently uncovered areas can be addressed through insurance-based risk-sharing and compensation mechanisms in the future is a question worth exploring.

Should Taiwan consider developing insurance products that are currently rare in practice—such as those using pet death as the insured event—the system must be designed based on the type of loss to be compensated. If the goal is to cover the non-pecuniary damage suffered by pet owners, emphasis should be placed on preventing moral hazard. This may include measures such as pre-contractual questionnaires to prevent duplicate insurance, stricter eligibility criteria for policyholders, and caps on benefit payouts, all to prevent pets from becoming victims of the insurance system. Conversely, if the product aims to compensate for pecuniary losses, attention should not only be paid to moral hazard and animal welfare, but also to ensuring the application of fundamental insurance law principles, such as the principle of indemnity, to maintain the system’s legitimacy and feasibility.

Moreover, given the growing pet population, the government may consider introducing a mandatory pet liability insurance system. In the short term, this could be achieved by imposing an insurance obligation on pet owners, requiring them to purchase commercial insurance currently available on the market to improve coverage rates. In the long term, the state may redesign policy-oriented insurance to better protect third parties, thereby advancing the comprehensive development of the overall system.