London cover at risk?

After a recent London seminar, Toby Stephens, of Holman Fenwick Willan, asks if the Marine Insurance Act 1906 is a threat to the London market?

It does not take much detective work to realise that the Marine Insurance Act 1906 is of key importance to hull and machinery (H&M) policies governed by English law; the clue is in the name. The Act has however faced increased criticism from certain quarters due to the harshness of some of its provisions and divergence with the present day position of other legal regimes. One such area is the section dealing with warranties and the impact on cover where warranties are not strictly adhered to.