Not with a Whisper but a Bang: the new insurance laws in a Professional Indemnity Context – Hailsham Chambers

‘The changes of last August and the impending Enterprise Act 2016 changes for May of next year will transform the way we have to look at insurance contracts generally and, if our insurer clients’ underwriting departments have not substantially rewritten their proposal forms and policy documents, we can anticipate a few years of ongoing law making.’

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Hailsham Chambers, 3rd November 2017

Source: www.hailshamchambers.com

Discount Rate and Accommodation Claims: Is there a will and is there a way – Byrom Chambers

‘On 07.09.2016, the Lord Chancellor announced his much awaited response to the Consultation commenced by his predecessor following the decisions made on 27.02.2017 to lower the discount rate from 2.5% to -0.75%.’

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Byrom Street Chambers, September 2017

Source: www.byromstreet.com

Commercial property: Restrictive covenants – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 22nd, 2017 in insurance, local government, London, news, planning, restrictive covenants, tribunals by sally

‘There are few cases so iconic that lawyers remember the names long after university or law school. One is Tulk v Moxhay [1848], the case on the restrictive covenants which have prevented building on Leicester Square. The date of that case demonstrates that well-drafted restrictive covenants on land are an effective way of controlling development of land indefinitely. However, not all restrictions are worthy of preservation, so the Law of Property Act 1925 contains in section 84 a mechanism for the release of land from restrictive covenants in certain circumstances.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 20th November 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lord Sumption at the Personal Injuries Bar Association Annual Lecture, London – Supreme Court

Posted November 17th, 2017 in accidents, compensation, damages, insurance, lectures, negligence, personal injuries by tracey

‘Abolishing Personal Injuries Law – A project’

Full speech

Supreme Court, 16th November 2017

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

CDM Decision and Penalty: Re Huntley (2) – Law & Religion UK

Posted November 15th, 2017 in Church of England, clergy, disciplinary procedures, fraud, insurance, news, tribunals by tracey

‘On 1 November 2017, the Church of England Document Library posted Huntley 2, the Decision and Penalty of the Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese of Durham between Mr Andrew Thurston (Complainant) and The Reverend David George Huntley (Respondent). This followed the Tribunal’s earlier Decision, May 2016, and Decision (Appeal) and Order in August 2016, which concerned the same clergyman but on a significantly different matter.’

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Law & Religion UK, 15th November 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Bar Council insurance call for employed barristers gets go-ahead – The Bar Council‎

Posted November 14th, 2017 in barristers, insurance, press releases, pro bono work by tracey

‘Employed barristers will now be allowed to carry out pro bono work as the Bar Council’s call for professional indemnity insurance (PII) extension to cover the employed Bar has been approved by Bar Mutual.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 13th November 2017

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

City watchdog swoops on £68bn insurance broking market – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 9th, 2017 in competition, financial regulation, insurance, news by tracey

‘The City watchdog has turned its attention towards London’s £68bn insurance broking market following “significant changes” to the lucrative sector since its last probe a decade ago.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th November 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Defendant does not have to plead dishonesty to disapply QOCS, Court of Appeal rules – Litigation Futures

Posted October 31st, 2017 in appeals, costs, insurance, news by sally

‘A defendant does not have to specifically plead fundamental dishonesty for a court to find that qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) should be disapplied, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 31st October 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

“Complete backing” for not extending cab-rank rule to public access work – Legal Futures

Posted October 30th, 2017 in barristers, complaints, consultations, disclosure, insurance, legal ombudsman, news by sally

‘The cab-rank rule will not be extended to public and licensed access (PLA) cases after the Bar Standards Board (BSB) received complete backing for the position in consultation.’

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Legal Futures, 30th October 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Self-driving cars and “safety-critical” software updates – Technology Law Blog

‘As noted previously, the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill currently under consideration by Parliament includes draft rules concerning the insurance of “automated” vehicles – being vehicles “designed or adapted to be capable, in at least some circumstances or situations, of safely driving themselves”. Tesla, Volvo, and BMW amongst others have already developed vehicles with limited self-driving capabilities, although fully autonomous vehicles (i.e. those actually capable of driving themselves) are still in the testing phase.’

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Technology Law Blog, 30th October 2017

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Autonomous and Electric Vehicles Bill – new UK proposals to promote AVs – Technology Law Blog

‘The UK Government has proposed new legislation to support the development and take-up of autonomous and electric vehicles.’

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Technology Law Blog, 24th October 2017

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

PPO first as insurer agrees to cover future cost of mesothelioma treatment – Litigation Futures

‘Solicitors for a man suffering from mesothelioma have claimed a first by securing an agreement with the defendant insurers to cover the future costs of his cancer treatment, no matter the amount or length.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th October 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Suspicious transaction reports to FCA soar to record high – OUT-LAW.com

‘The number of reports notifying the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of suspicious transactions have risen to their highest ever level, more than doubling in the last two years.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd October 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Challenging the cost of insurance – Tanfield Chambers

Posted October 20th, 2017 in insurance, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘It is frequently common for lessees to complain that the decision of a landlord to insure the freehold building with a particular insurer or under a particular policy is unreasonable because it is too expensive. Often the complaint is based on the lessee having found an alternative quote that does not include the same level of cover as is deemed necessary by the landlord. Sometimes, however, there are also cases where lessees find “like for like” quotes that are significantly cheaper than that obtained by the landlord. While it is well established that s.19, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 does not require a landlord to obtain services at the cheapest cost, where there is evidence that the market will generally provide those services at a significantly lower price the First-tier Tribunal is more likely to find that the costs incurred by the landlord are not reasonable.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 19th October 2017

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

The shifting sands of risk management in construction projects – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 20th, 2017 in construction industry, delay, insurance, news by sally

‘Construction and engineering projects, whether land-based or marine, are inherently risky. For this reason, parties to construction and engineering contracts manage risk by seeking to allocate responsibility for each different type of risk to a particular party.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 20th October 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

UK legislates for a future of driverless and electric cars – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 20th, 2017 in accidents, artificial intelligence, insurance, news, road traffic by sally

‘New legislation designed to support the use of electric and driverless cars has been proposed by the UK government.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th October 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Couple who faked holiday sickness are jailed – The Guardian

Posted October 16th, 2017 in compensation, fraud, holidays, insurance, news, private prosecutions by sally

‘The government has stepped up attempts to eliminate fake holiday sickness scams, as a middle-aged British couple who had boasted on social media about having “sun, laughter and fun” on their holidays were jailed after making false insurance claims.’

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The Guardian, 13th October 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Eight sentenced over bus ‘crash for cash’ fraud – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 13th, 2017 in fraud, insurance, news, personal injuries, road traffic, sentencing by tracey

‘The biggest number of claimants ever tried together in an insurance fraud case have been handed sentences ranging from community service to custody.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 13th October 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Government calls for holiday sickness fraud evidence as it treats ABTA figures with caution – Legal Futures

Posted October 13th, 2017 in costs, fraud, holidays, insurance, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘The Ministry of Justice has today issued a call for evidence that it said would give ministers “a greater insight into the reported rise” in fraudulent holiday sickness claims, but displayed caution in the use of the oft-cited figure of a 500% increase in cases.’

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Legal Futures, 13th October 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ministry of Justice “set to repeat mistakes of LASPO”, warns MASS chairman – Litigation Futures

Posted October 12th, 2017 in consultations, insurance, Ministry of Justice, news, personal injuries by sally

‘ASPO has not brought down insurance premiums, stopped referral fees or seen accident victims benefit from the promised 10% uplift in damages, and the Ministry of Justice is set to repeat its mistakes in the Civil Liability Bill, the chairman of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) claimed yesterday.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th October 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com