Tag Archives: insurance law

WHEN A MANDATARY’S OVERSIGHT DOEST NOT BIND THE MANDATOR

In theory, section 2160 of the Civil Code of Quebec is clear. In fact, the mandator is liable to third persons for the acts performed by the mandatary in the performance and within the limits of his mandate and even if the acts exceed the limits, unless the mandator has not ratified such acts.

In the field of insurance, where every company does business with numerous adjustors, a simple mistake on coverage could benefit insureds who could eventually receive an insurance indemnity not otherwise owed.

In the judgment De Melo vs. Promutuel L’Outaouais, the Court of Quebec rendered an interesting decision regarding whether acts and words of an adjustor were binding upon the insurance company which had given him a mandate.

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Earthquake strengthening and insurance premiums

Further to our earlier comments in relation to earthquake prone buildings the market is now seeing the practical commercial fallout from the increasing focus on earthquake prone buildings.

Reports are filtering through of insurance premiums rising dramatically – in some cases by more than 600% where the buildings are circa the 1900’s.  Most commercial leases pass the cost of insurance premiums through to the tenant as an outgoing meaning the tenant is being asked to meet these increased costs.  This is in turn causing some tenants to look to move premises as and when they can. More…

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Me Michel Green named by Best Lawyers® as Insurance Law “LAWYER OF THE YEAR” for 2013

Best Lawyers® has announced that Me Michel Green has been named Best Lawyers’ 2013 “Lawyer of the Year” for Insurance Law. In the announcement, Best Lawyers noted that “lawyers being honored as “Lawyer of the Year” are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the exhaustive peer-review assessments we conduct with thousands of leading lawyers each year. Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.”

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An arguable case against joining insurers

In recent times, with some notable exceptions1, the bar for joining insurers to proceedings has been lowering (see our previous update Courts lower the bar on claims).  However, a recent case, Energize Fitness Pty Ltd v Vero Insurance Limited [2012] NSWCA 213 (Energize) (handed down on 19 July 2012), has apparently stemmed the tide.

In Energize, the NSW Court of Appeal held that: More…

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Principal contractor owed no duty of care to subcontractor’s employee: Vella’s Plant Hire Pty Ltd v Mistranch Pty Ltd & Ors [2012] QSC 77

Mr McKenzie was injured in a machinery rollover incident on 23 April 2007 during the course of his employment for Vella’s Plant Hire Pty Ltd (“Vella’s”). McKenzie sued Vella’s and achieved a favourable settlement. Vella’s maintained that the entities who engaged it to perform the work during which McKenzie was injured (“the principal contractors”) should bear some responsibility for payment of McKenzie’s damages. Justice McMeekin of the Supreme Court of Queensland was asked to determine the contribution proceedings between Vella’s and the principal contractors. More…

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Causation and the Evidentiary Burden : Strong v Woolworths Limited [2012] HCA 5

Introduction

On 7 March 2012 the High Court of Australia handed down its judgment in the matter of Strong v Woolworths Limited [2012] HCA 5, allowing an appeal in a slip and fall case and, in doing so, has revisited the law on causation. The decision addresses the evidentiary difficulties in slip and fall cases, and has potentially far-reaching consequences for insurance, public liability and personal injury law. More…

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A key facts sheet (or two…): Treasury releases home building and home contents insurance policy discussion paper

According to the Government, too many people are confused by lengthy insurance contracts and their disclosure documents. As such, the Government has indicated that it is committed to implementing a mandatory one page KFS that will clearly set out what is and is not covered under a Home Building and Home Contents Insurance policy (Home policy).

On 1 March 2012, the Government released a discussion paper to seek community feedback on the content, format, structure and provision of the KFS, to ensure that it achieves this purpose. More…

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But wait… there’s more! Government to explore options for extension of unfair contract terms to insurance

As consumers look to our Government to ‘guide us to thy perfect light’, the Productivity Commission, in its 2008 Review of Australia’s Consumer Policy Framework, recommended that new generic national consumer laws be implemented across all sectors of the economy.  This recommendation included national unfair contract terms (UCT) laws.   read more

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Life in the Fast (Track) lane – policy drafting and the shipyard dilemma Tropical Reef Shipyard Pty Ltd v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited [2011] FCAFC 145

The recent decision of the Full Federal Court in Tropical Reef Shipyard Pty Ltd v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited [2011] FCAFC 145 is the latest instalment in an ongoing saga over disputed loss calculation methods in Business Interruption (BI) policies.     read more

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It’s beginning to look a lot like… the pre-Christmas (regulation) rush APRA releases latest consultation package re capital standards for insurers and the latest exposure drafts re the standard definition of flood

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released a response paper and 14 draft prudential standards in a third round of consultations on its review of capital standards for general and life insurers.  As discussed in our April 2011 update (see here), according to APRA, the aims of the review include improving the risk sensitivity of the standards and achieving better alignment across APRA-regulated industries.              read more

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