The Duties of Insurers - Beneficiaries of Group Policies

(Weldon v GRE Linked Life Assurance Ltd, April 2000, forthcoming in [2001] Lloyd’s Rep IR)

In the Weldon case discussed above Mr Justice Nelson made brief reference to an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal, Briscoe v Lubrizol Ltd and Royal Sun Alliance Group plc, decided in October 1999 and reported in [2000] ICR 694. In view of its significance, this case will also be reported in [2001] Lloyd’s Rep IR. The issue was whether insurers under a group policy made by an employer for the benefit of its employees owed any duty of care to the individual employees. The case was decided before the implementation of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 and must now be read in the light of that legislation. The facts were assumed for the purposes of the proceedings, in which the defendant insurer sought the striking out of a claim by an employee.