In what is understood to be the first English law decision on a policy underwritten on the WELCAR form, Mrs Justice Carr in the Commercial Court in Munich Re Capital Limited v Ascot Corporate Name Limited [2019] EWHC 2768 (Comm) held that there was no maintenance cover under a facultative excess of loss reinsurance contract … Read more

The Supreme Court has overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision in Travelers Insurance Company Ltd v XYZ [2019] UKSC 48 in a landmark decision on the question of insurers’ liability for costs under section 51 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (section 51 SCA). The decision, which is welcome news for liability insurers, brings some … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has today released a webinar looking at insurance issues in class actions. In the presentation Sarah McNally and Greig Anderson discuss how to maximise insurance recoveries when class action risk arises. Clients and contacts of the firm can register to access the archived version by contacting Webinars. The webinar is the fourth in our series of webinars … Read more

The FCA’s latest market study (MS18/1.2), on general insurance pricing practices, continues its focus on general insurance markets. Building on an earlier thematic review on home insurance, the FCA has looked in particular at how firms adapt the margins they aim to earn according to the likely behaviour of individual customers. Read more

The new statutory regime for the regulation of insurance intermediaries in Hong Kong takes effect today. This represents the final stage of implementation of the reforms which established the Insurance Authority (IA) as Hong Kong’s independent insurance regulator. The IA assumed the regulatory responsibilities of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in June 2017 and has taken over the regulation of insurance intermediaries (agents and brokers) from  three self-regulatory organisations (SROs) from today. Requirements relating to the intermediary management function, one of the control functions of an authorised insurer, have also come into effect. The IA will be responsible for all aspects of regulation of insurance intermediaries, including issuing rules, codes and guidelines, approving licences, monitoring compliance, conducting inspections and investigations, and imposing disciplinary sanctions where breaches have occurred. Read more

The outcome of the June 2016 UK referendum on EU membership ushered in a period of increasing political turmoil in the UK. When I wrote an introduction to the first edition of this legal guide my colleagues and I had a clear view that leaving the EU would take far longer and be far more complex than most other commentators were saying, but I did not anticipate then that over three years later we would have so little clarity on the UK and EU’s long term relationship with each other.  Nor that polarisation of views on all sides would have increased still further, leading to political deadlock. This updated Brexit Legal Guide addresses the legal position if the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal and picks out the key pieces of legislation that will soon be in force if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.  I hope you will find it useful. Read more

An Australian state Court of Appeal decision has expressly rejected the reasoning of Mr Justice Flaux (as he then was) in the English High Court case of Synergy Health (UK) Ltd v CGU Insurance Plc [2010] EWHC 2583 (Comm), finding that depreciation is not to be deducted as a “saving” when quantifying loss of Gross … Read more

In an important recent decision, the Court of Appeal has confirmed the test for rectifying a contractual document on the grounds of common mistake: FSHC Group Holdings Ltd v GLAS Trust Corporation Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1361. In summary, the Court confirmed that to establish a claim for rectification, a party must prove that the … Read more