AMLIN UK LTD V GEO-ROPE LTD

[2016] CSOH 165, Court of Session, Outer House, Lord Turnbull, 29 November 2016

Insurance (employers' liability) - Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, section 1 - Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998, Regulation 2 - Policy containing prohibited condition relating to cooperation by assured - Whether insurer, having paid, could seek indemnity from assured

The assured incurred liability to an employee for injuries caused to his arm by exposure to excessive levels of vibration. The insurers paid the claim despite the assured being in alleged breach of a policy condition requiring cooperation in the claims-handling process. That condition was not permitted to be included in the "approved policy" required by section 1 of the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 as implemented by Regulation 2 of the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998. The insurers sought to recover their payment from the assured on the basis of a policy term stating that if they paid sums which would not have been paid but for the provisions of the 1969 Act, then the assured had to repay those sums.