Category: insurance

Leaning towards insurable interests – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted March 31st, 2015 in insurance, negligence, news by sally

‘Where a claimant assured has no insurable interest in the subject matter of the insurance, a claim against the insurer will fail. The rationale behind this rule is to preclude the possibility of gambling by the assured. But making good a defence of lack of insurable interest is a challenge. A court is naturally reluctant to accept that no contract exists where an insurer has already accepted an insurance premium. The recent High Court decision in Western Trading Ltd illustrates this reluctance.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 24th March 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Is the defendant worth suing? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted March 31st, 2015 in civil procedure rules, costs, insurance, negligence, news, regulations by sally

‘“You can’t get blood out of a stone”. “There’s no point in throwing good money after bad”. Many will have found themselves using clichés when advising a claimant where the defendant’s ability to meet any future award is very much in doubt. In professional negligence claims the normal expectation is that the defendant will have professional indemnity insurance cover that will meet any claim, but how can one be sure? And even if there is cover can one find out the level of that cover?’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 24th March 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

FCA plans to ban ‘opt-out’ sales of add-on insurance products –

Posted March 27th, 2015 in consumer protection, financial regulation, insurance, internet by sally

‘UK financial services firms will be banned from using pre-ticked boxes and other methods to sell customers additional ‘add-on’ products when they are purchasing regulated financial products under plans published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

NIHL: Disease or Injury and Does it Really Matter? – Zenith PI Blog

Posted March 25th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, health, insurance, national insurance, news, personal injuries, social security by sally

‘A recent case heard by Mr Justice Phillips in the High Court has considered the increasingly popular argument that Noise Induced Hearing Loss is an injury rather than a disease.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 24th March 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Businesses line up to be regulated by Bar Standards Board – Legal Futures

Posted March 25th, 2015 in barristers, indemnities, insurance, news, regulations by sally

‘Sixteen businesses have so far completed their applications to be regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 25th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Regulator confirms minimum insurance terms for entities – Bar Standards Board

Posted March 25th, 2015 in alternative business structures, barristers, indemnities, insurance, news, regulations by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today [24 March] published the minimum terms of the professional indemnity insurance it expects BSB-regulated businesses (“entities”) to have in place.’

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Bar Standards Board, 24th March 2015

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

The Insurance Act 2015: practical changes for insurers to consider – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 25th, 2015 in contracts, disclosure, fraud, insurance, Law Commission, legislation, news, Scotland by sally

‘The 2015 Insurance Act will, subject to an 18-month transition period, introduce what the UK government has described as “the biggest reform to insurance contract law in more than a century”.’

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OUT-LAW.com, March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Car crash Euro-damages against government upheld by CA – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in accidents, appeals, damages, drug offences, EC law, insurance, interpretation, news, personal injuries, road traffic by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has recently upheld the decision of Jay J here that a drug-dealer was entitled to compensation against the Government for injuries in a car accident, even though at the time he and the negligent driver both had drugs on them.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Credit hire rates. Are they basically the same? – Park Square Barristers

Posted March 19th, 2015 in appeals, insurance, news, rent, road traffic by sally

‘A recent decision from the Court of Appeal has caused a sea-change in the ways in which courts will assess the likely cost of basic hire rates (BHRs) when assessing the recoverable damages to be paid under a credit-hire agreement. From now on, the courts will be entitled to calculate BHRs with reference to the lowest reasonable rate charged by a local (to the claimant) main hire company.’

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Park Square Barristers, 6th March 2015

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Credit Hire Update: Stevens v Equity Syndicate Management Limited – Henderson Chambers

Posted March 17th, 2015 in appeals, insurance, news, rent, road traffic by sally

‘In the most important credit hire decision since Bent, the Court of Appeal rules that judges evaluating credit hire claims involving pecunious claimants should adopt the “lowest reasonable rate”.’

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Henderson Chambers, March 2015

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Delaney v Secretary of State for Transport – WLR Daily

Posted March 17th, 2015 in appeals, compensation, drug abuse, EC law, insurance, law reports, uninsured drivers by sally

Delaney v Secretary of State for Transport [2015] EWCA Civ 172; [2015] WLR (D) 112

‘Clause 6(1)(e)(iii) of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (Compensation of Victims of Uninsured Drivers) Agreement 1999, made between the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and the Secretary of State for Transport, which provided an exclusion from liability for compensation for the Motor Insurers’ Bureau where the vehicle involved was being used in the course or furtherance of a crime, was incompatible with Council Directive 72/166/EEC, Council Directive 84/5/EEC and Council Directive 90/232/EEC.’

WLR Daily, 9th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Judge criticises insurer bid to cut costs by reclassifying noise-induced hearing loss – Litigation Futures

Posted March 17th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, costs, fees, industrial injuries, insurance, news, noise, personal injuries by sally

‘A High Court judge has criticised the insurance industry over a failed attempt to have noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) reclassified as an injury rather than a disease, in a bid to reduce the level of pre-Jackson success fees defendants would have to pay.’

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Litigation Futures, 16th March 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

BIG News In Credit Hire – The Court of Appeal rules that recoverable BHR for Claimant will be the lowest reasonable rate charged by comparable hire companies – Zenith PI Blog

Posted March 17th, 2015 in appeals, consumer credit, insurance, news, rent by sally

‘Traditionally, when assessing recoverable rates, credit hire companies have argued that where a range of comparable basic hire rates (BHR) can be shown from other companies, some of which are higher than the credit hire rate claimed, the Claimant’s credit hire rate should be awarded in full.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 16th March 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Pension mis-selling: 600,000 retired workers owed compensation – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 16th, 2015 in compensation, consumer protection, insurance, news, ombudsmen, pensions by sally

‘As the watchdog considers formal compensation arrangements for savers sold inappropriate deals, Katie Morley looks at how much they could be owed in redress.’

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Daily Telegraph, 14th March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Plans to restrict use of conditional fee agreements in insolvency cases dropped ‘for the time being’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 5th, 2015 in delay, fees, insolvency, insurance, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Successful parties to insolvency cases will not be prevented from recovering conditional fee agreement (CFA) “success” fees and legal insurance premiums from their opponents from April, after the UK government extended a temporary exemption from the general ban “for the time being”.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Bigamist jailed after murdering second wife to cash in on life insurance – The Guardian

Posted March 3rd, 2015 in assisting offenders, bigamy, conspiracy, insurance, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A bigamist will serve at least 25 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering the second of his wives to cash in her life insurance and solve his financial problems.’

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The Guardian, 27th February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Appeal judges reject bid for costs in case that started out in small claims court – Litigation Futures

Posted March 2nd, 2015 in appeals, civil procedure rules, costs, insurance, news, small claims by sally

‘A claimant who took a credit hire case from the small claims court all the way to the Court of Appeal must pay her own costs because the defendant insurer’s behaviour was not “unreasonable”, appeal judges have ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 2nd March 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Appeal court sets ‘lowest reasonable rate’ test for credit hire charges – Litigation Futures

Posted March 2nd, 2015 in appeals, insurance, news, road traffic, Supreme Court by sally

‘The insurance industry today claimed they had achieved a major success after the Court of Appeal ruled that judges evaluating credit hire claims involving pecunious claimants should adopt the “lowest reasonable rate”.’

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Litigation Futures, 26th February 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

PPI problems still the cause of most complaints to financial ombudsman – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2015 in banking, complaints, financial regulation, insurance, news, reports by sally

‘Complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) are still making up two-thirds of all the cases being dealt with by the financial ombudsman, which named Lloyds and Barclays as Britain’s two “most complained-about” financial firms.’

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The Guardian, 24th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

ATE insurer not estopped from avoiding policy, High Court rules – Litigation Futures

Posted February 19th, 2015 in costs, estoppel, fraud, insolvency, insurance, misrepresentation, news by sally

‘After-the-event (ATE) insurer Temple Legal Protection was not estopped from avoiding payment on a policy after a fraudulent misrepresentation, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th February 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com