In the recent case of AIG Insurance Hong Kong Ltd v Lynn McCullough and William McCullough [2019] HKCFI 1649, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (CFI) considered the effect of an arbitration agreement under an insurance policy and, in particular, the circumstances in which an anti-suit injunction may be granted to restrain a party … Read more

The newly established independent Insurance Authority (IIA) held its first meeting last Friday, 29 January 2016. The meeting was attended by its Chairman, Dr Moses Cheng Mo-chi, and six out of the seven other non-executive directors appointed in late 20151. According to the government press release issued on 29 January 2016, the matters discussed and … Read more

Hong Kong is about to establish a unified insurance regulatory regime under the auspices of a new body, to be named the 'Insurance Authority'. The creation and set up of an independent insurance authority is regarded by the Hong Kong Government as the most important regulatory reform in the insurance sector since the passage of … Read more

In Versloot Dredging BV v HDI Gerling Industrie Versicherung AG (the DC Merwestone) [2014] EWCA Civ 1349, the English Court of Appeal considered the special common law rule of forfeiture of the claim where a fraudulent device had been relied upon for the purposes of making the claim. The Court held that underwriters had been … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has recently published the Class Actions Developments and Trends report 2013/2014. Damian Grave, Ken Adams and Jason Betts provide a review of the past year and consider possible trends for 2014 for Australia, amongst other jurisdictions, while Peter Godwin and Gareth Thomas provide an update of the recent developments in Tokyo and Hong Kong.  … Read more

In Genesis Housing Association Limited v Liberty Syndicate Management Limited and others [2013] EWCA Civ 1173 the Court of Appeal upheld the first instance decision of Mr Justice Akenhead and confirmed the legality of basis clauses. A basis clause is a provision set out in the proposal form or in the insurance contract itself, to … Read more

On 26 June 2013 the Government published the consultation conclusions on its key legislative proposals for the establishment of an independent Insurance Authority (IIA).  The establishment of the IIA and the provision for a new statutory licensing regime for insurance intermediaries are described by the Government as “the most significant reform initiative for the insurance … Read more

We have been seeing significant interest in political and credit risk insurance in the last few years. This interest comes from both corporates and financial institutions. Our insurance team has recently advised purchasers of political and credit risk insurance products on a variety of issues and we will discuss some matters to consider in this … Read more