18/02/2015
The Insurance Act 2015
The Insurance Bill received royal assent on February 12 2015, becoming law as The Insurance Act 2015.
Hailed as the "... the biggest reform to insurance contract law in more than a century.” the Act will come into force in August 2016 and will apply to both insurance and reinsurance contracts.
With much of our current insurance law derived from the Marine Insurance Act 1906, which codified the common law principles set out by the courts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Insurance Act has been designed to modernise existing insurance law and bring it into line with 21st century contract law principles.
The main changes:
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Fraudulent Claims - The common law rule of forfeiture is put on a statutory footing. Where the insured commits a fraud against the insurer, the insurer is not liable to pay the insurance claim to which the fraud relates. Where the insurer has already paid out insurance moneys on the claim and later discovers the fraud, the insurer may recover those moneys from the insured.
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Contracting out -Prohibit insurers from inserting in an insurance contract, terms that would leave the insured, be they a consumer or a non-consumer, in a worse position than that required by the Act.
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Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010 - Adds a provision allowing the Secretary of State, by regulations, to add or remove circumstances in which a person will fall within the provisions of the 2010 Act. The intention in the first instance is to use this power to add insolvency and other similar events to the 2010 Act which will make it easier for claimants to proceed directly against insurers where employers are insolvent.
If you wish to find out more about these changes or enquire about the in-house training FSW offer on the Insurance Act 2015 please call Charlotte Waters at our London office on 44 (0) 207 993 6960 or email waters@fsw-law.com.
For detailed analysis of the Insurance Act 2015 please see Guide to the Insurance Act 2015, or The Insurance Act 2015 – Discussion for Underwriters
Fisher Scoggins Waters is a leading construction, engineering and manufacturing litigation firm, specialising in disputes and disasters. For further information on this article or any of our litigation services, please contact us on +44 (0) 207 993 6960.