Insurance Law Monthly

The cost of cleaning up environmental pollution is regarded in England as falling outside standard liability policies. Partly for that reason, the market has developed Environmental Impact Liability cover which is designed specifically to pick up such liability. A recent decision from Queensland Court of Appeal, Hamcor Pty Ltd v The State of Queensland [2013] QCA 262, confirms that a general public liability policy appropriately worded will not normally extend to clean-up costs.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, amongst other things, gave statutory force to a number of voluntary bodies established to provide a cheap and speedy means of resolving disputes involving financial services. The Insurance Ombudsman Bureau, which had existed since 1981, was merged into the new statutory body, the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Crystal Imports Ltd v Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London [2013] NZHC 3513 is the most recent New Zealand authority to consider the question of successive losses within the same policy period. The marine position is settled in favour of the doctrine of merger, whereby unrepaired partial losses merge into a subsequent total loss, but there is no English authority on the application of that doctrine to non-marine policies.

In Sea Glory Maritime Co and Another v Al Sagr National Insurance Co (The Nancy) [2013] EWHC 2116 (Comm), Blair J had to consider a raft of defences raised by underwriters and based on alleged non-disclosure or misrepresentation of material facts, non-compliance with warranties and illegality under US law. His decision is considered by Nicholas Davidson QC and Hamid Khanbhai of 4 New Square.