3.1 The law on insurable interest as it applies to marine insurance contracts derives from the nature of the contract as one of indemnity and also from an historical legacy of policies against gambling.1 Consequently the requirement is complex, not universally adhered to in practice, and the subject of proposals for abolition or reform.2 However, the outcome of current, fluctuating debate on the future of the concept is uncertain. For present purposes, therefore, the following discussion is based on what the law currently is rather than on what it may eventually turn out to be.