Insurance Law Monthly

The question for the New South Wales Court of Appeal in SunWater Ltd v Liberty Mutual Insurance Co [2022] NSWCA 273 was whether an exclusion in a liability policy for liability arising out of the rendering of or failure to render professional advice or service applied to all third-party claims or only to claims brought by the assured's clients.

In Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd v Delor Vue Apartments CTS 39788 [2022] HCA 38 the High Court of Australia has given detailed consideration to the rules of waiver, estoppel and utmost good faith as they apply to a situation in which an insurer has a right to refuse to pay on the basis of non-disclosure but has stated its intention to honour the contract. The majority has taken a very narrow view of the circumstances in which an insurer will be bound by its statements.

The Court of Appeal in Quadra Commodities SA v XL Insurance Co SE [2023] EWCA Civ 432 has upheld the first instance decision of Butcher J [2022] EWHC 431 (Comm); [2023] Lloyd's Rep IR 26, which contained detailed discussion of the modern approach to insurable interest. Butcher J's judgment was also the first to analyse the implied term in insurance policies added by section 13A of the Insurance Act 2015 whereby an insurer faces liability in damages for late payment of a claim, although that matter was not the subject of the appeal to the Court of Appeal.