Measure of indemnity

Damages for late payment

The assured suffers a serious loss and submits a claim against his insurers. The insurers wrongfully refuse to indemnify the assured. Ultimately they admit liability, by which time the assured’s business has failed as he did not – without the insurance monies – have the necessary funds to reinstate the lost property. English law has set its face against any recovery from the insurers for this additional loss, the assured being held to the claim under the policy plus interest. The correctness of this approach was raised before HHJ Chambers QC in Normhurst Ltd v Dornoch Ltd [2004] EWHC 567 (Comm), [2004] Lloyd’s Rep IR (forthcoming). Not surprisingly, the court was constrained by earlier authority to reach any different decision.