Insurance Law Monthly

Ageas Insurance Ltd v Stoodley 2018 WL 02024527 raised the question of whether an insurer was entitled to avoid a policy for misrepresentation in accordance with the requirements of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012. The point arose in proceedings brought by another insurer liable for the same motor insurance claim.

The Supreme Court in Atlasnavios-Navegação Lda v Navigators Insurance Co Ltd [2018] UKSC 26 has clarified the meaning of the standard war risks cover for persons acting maliciously and of the standard exclusion for infringement of customs or trading regulations. The judgment of Lord Mance, with whom the other members of the Supreme Court agreed, also contains some interesting observations on causation.

It is trite law that a marine policy – and indeed any other property policy – covers physical loss or damage but not economic loss. The issue before Sir Ross Cranston in Engelhart CTP (US) LLC v Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221 [2018] EWHC 900 (Comm) was whether the specific terms of the marine policy in that case operated to reverse the basic rule. The hearing was purely on the construction of the policy, so the case proceeded on the basis of assumed facts.