Insurance Law Monthly

Two issues were live before the Victoria Court of Appeal in Blakeley v CGU Insurance Ltd [2017] VSCA 378. First, what was the scope of a professional indemnity policy taken out by a management consultancy? Secondly, were the insurers entitled to avoid liability by reason of the assured’s failure to disclose that its activities included acting as director of a client company?

The New South Wales Court of Appeal in Commonwealth Steel Co Ltd v BHP Billiton Marine & General Insurance Ltd [2018] NSWCA 242 has upheld the first instance decision of Hammerschlag J in his interpretation of a deductible clause in an employers’ liability policy. The question was whether an indexing provision applied to the sum insured or to the deductible.

The court has power under CPR 25.13 to order aclaimant to provide security for the defendant’s costs when the claimant isinsolvent and unlikely to be able to meet the defendant’s costs in the eventthat the claim fails.

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.