Co-insurance

Life policies

The familiar distinction between joint policies (where the rights of two or more co-assureds stand and fall together) and composite policies (where the rights of each co-assured are distinct and not reliant on the rights of others) is a familiar one in insurance law. The decision of the Court of Appeal in Murphy v Murphy [2003] EWCA Civ 1862, [2004] Lloyd’s Rep IR (forthcoming) is an illustration of the principle in the context of life insurance, the Court of Appeal holding by a majority that a joint life policy is composite rather than joint in nature.