Leading underwriter clauses and breach of warranty

Marine insurance – Towage – Construction of follow leader clause – Breach of warranty – Fraudulent means and devices

Oluwatobi Seriki, LLB LLM (Southampton), Research Assistant, Institute of Maritime Law

Facts of the case

The claimant was the owner of the tug Buana Dua. The tug was insured under a policy of marine insurance by three underwriters, of whom the lead underwriter was Axa, and the following underwriters were the defendant and Aegis. The policy contained a ‘follow Axa’ clause in the following terms: