Insurance Law Monthly

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is compulsory for a person using a vehicle in the UK to be insured against liability to third parties. In the event that loss or injury is inflicted on a third party, there are various statutory mechanisms whereby the third party can bring proceedings against the assured’s insurers. An issue that is still largely unresolved is the extent to which policy exclusions can be relied upon by an insurer in third-party proceedings.

In Denso Manufacturing UK Ltd v Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) plc [2017] EWHC 391 (Comm) a series of questions arose in respect to the interpretation of an after the event policy. Some of those were confined to the context of ATE insurance. Others – in particular the nature and effect of cooperation provisions and premium obligations – are of much wider interest. Judgment was given by Sara Cockerill QC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court.

The rapid development of technology allowing vehicles to be operated without any input from a driver has created complex legal issues. The technology has been tested in numerous jurisdictions and many of them have begun to consider how insurance law might be adopted to deal with the risk of accidents. It has been estimated by insurers that over 90 per cent of accidents are wholly or partly attributable to driver error.