Causation in Insurance Contract Law


Book Description

Causation is a crucial and complex issue in ascertaining whether a particular loss or damage is covered in an insurance policy or in a tort claim, and is an issue that cannot be escaped. Therefore, this unique book will assist practitioners in answering one of the most important questions in the handling of their insurance and tort claims. Through extensive case law analysis, this book scrutinises the causation theory in marine insurance and non-marine insurance law, and provides a comparative study on the causation test in tort law. In addition, the author expertly applies causation questions in concrete scenarios, and ultimately, this book provides a single volume solution to a very complex but essential question of insurance law and tort law. Causation in Insurance Contract Law also comes with a foreword written by Professor Robert Merkin. This book will be an invaluable guide for insurance industry professionals, as well as legal practitioners, academics and students in the fields of insurance and tort law.




Concurrent Causation and Proportional Liability in Chinese Insurance Law


Book Description

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the approach adopted in Chinese and English law to the issue of concurrent causation in insurance law. The paper notes that the Chinese courts adopt a proportional liability regime to hold insurers liable if one of the proximate causes is an insured risk, and argues that this regime ignores other proximate causes as uninsured risks or excluded risks and therefore violates the real intention of parties to insurance contracts. The paper concludes that the proportional liability regime is not an appropriate approach for determining the insurer's liability in the circumstance of concurrent causation and that the resolution of this issue should rather depend upon the construction of the insurance contract.




Insurance and the Law of Obligations


Book Description

The insurance industry has a significant impact on the operation of private law, yet remains poorly understood and under-theorized in the legal literature. Filling an important gap, this book analyses the interaction of insurance law and the general law of obligations, in theory and practice.




Causation in Insurance Contract Law


Book Description

Causation is a crucial and complex matter in ascertaining whether a particular loss or damage is covered in an insurance policy or in a tort claim, and is an issue that cannot be escaped. Now in its second edition, this unique book assists practitioners in answering one of the most important questions faced in the handling of insurance and tort claims. Through extensive case law analysis, this book scrutinises the causation theory in marine insurance and non-marine insurance law, and provides a comparative study on the causation test in tort law. In addition, the author expertly applies causation questions in concrete scenarios, and ultimately, this book provides a single volume solution to a very complex but essential question of insurance law and tort law. Thoroughly revised and updated throughout to include the Insurance Act 2015, several landmark cases and potential impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the second edition also features an introduction re-written to clarify elementary and central questions of causation in insurance law and tort. Additionally, it also provides three brand new chapters on Factual Causation and Legal Causation, Causation and Interpretation, and Causation and Measure of Losses to provide a deeper and more thorough analysis, comparing academic approaches and juridical approaches to addressing causation issues in insurance claims. This book is an invaluable and unique guide for insurance industry professionals, as well as legal practitioners, academics and students in the fields of insurance and tort law.







Proportional Liability: Analytical and Comparative Perspectives


Book Description

Causal uncertainty is a wide-spread phenomenon. Courts are often unable to determine whether a defendant’s tortious conduct was a factual cause of a plaintiff’s harm. Yet, sometimes courts can determine the probability that the defendant caused the plaintiff’s harm, although often there is considerable variance in the probability estimate based on the available evidence. The conventional way to cope with this uncertainty has been to apply the evidentiary rule of ‘standard of proof’. The application of this ‘all or nothing’ rule can lead to unfairness by absolving defendants who acted tortiously and may also create undesirable incentives that result in greater wrongful conduct and injustice to victims. Some courts have decided that this ‘no-liability’ outcome is undesirable. They have adopted rules of proportional liability that compensate plaintiffs according to the probability that their harm was caused by the defendant’s tortious conduct. In 2005 the Principles of European Tort Law (PETL) made a breakthrough in this regard by embracing rules of proportional liability. This project, building on PETL, endeavours to make further inquiries into the desirable scope of proportional liability and to offer a more detailed view of its meaning, implications, and ramifications.




Insurance Law


Book Description




Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL)


Book Description

In this volume, the Project Group "Restatement of European Insurance Contract Law" presents its Principles of European Insurance Contract Law (PEICL). These principles were submitted to the European Commission as a Draft Common Frame of Reference of European Insurance Contract Law (DCFR Insurance). The volume comprises the PEICL/DCFR Insurance, as well as translations into Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish. It sets out the approach used by the Project Group, how the PEICL/DCFR Insurance relates to the overall DCFR, the participation of the Project Group in the CoPECL (Common Principles of European Contract Law) Network, as well as the general structure and characteristics of the PEICL/DCFR Insurance. The Project Group has also drafted the PEICL/DCFR Insurance as a model for an Optional Instrument of European Insurance Contract Law.




Chinese Insurance Contracts


Book Description

Chinese Insurance Contracts: Law and Practice is the first systematic text written in English on the law of insurance in China. This book offers a critical analysis of the major principles, doctrines and concepts of insurance contract law in China. At every point the analysis discusses the principles of the Insurance Law in detail, referring where appropriate to decided cases and also drawing attention to external influences. Readers are guided through the complexities of Chinese law in a clear and comprehensive fashion, and – significantly – in a manner that is accessible and meaningful for those used to a common law system. This book presents a comprehensive picture of Chinese insurance contract law, to facilitate a wider understanding of the relevant rules of law. Elements of insurance contract law are critically examined. In addition, this book presents rules of law on some special types of insurance contract, such as life insurance, property insurance, liability insurance, motor vehicle insurance, reinsurance, and marine insurance. The deficiencies and shortcomings of the law and practice will be identified and analysed; suggestions and recommendations on how to reform the law will be presented. Chinese Insurance Contracts also offers legal and practical advice to insurance professionals on how to draft clauses to avoid contractual pitfalls. It also uses cases to illustrate the difficulties which can arise in applying the principles in practice. This book will be essential reading for insurance companies and legal practitioners looking to do business in China, as well as reference for Chinese lawyers practising insurance law. It will also be a useful resource for students and academics studying Chinese law.