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.







Transparency in Insurance Contract Law


Book Description

This Volume of the AIDA Europe Research Series on Insurance Law and Regulation focuses on transparency as the guiding principle of modern insurance law. It consists of chapters written by leaders in the respective field, who address transparency in a range of civil and common law jurisdictions, along with overview chapters. Each chapter reviews the transparency principles applicable in the jurisdiction discussed. Whether expressly or impliedly, all jurisdictions recognize a duty on the part of the insured to make a fair presentation of the risk when submitting a proposal for cover to the insurers, although there is little consensus on the scope of that duty. Disputed matters in this regard include: whether it is satisfied by honest answers to express questions, or whether there is a spontaneous duty of disclosure; whether facts relating to the insured’s character, as opposed to the nature of the risk itself, are to be presented to the insurers; the role of insurance intermediaries in the placement process; and the remedy for breach of duty. Transparency is, however, a much wider concept. Potential policyholders are in principle entitled to be made aware of the key terms of coverage and to be warned of hidden traps (such as conditions precedent, average clauses and excess provisions), but there are a range of different approaches. Some jurisdictions have adopted a “soft law” approach, using codes of practice for pre-contract disclosure, while other jurisdictions employ the rather nebulous duty of (utmost) good faith. Leaving aside placement, transparency is also demanded after the policy has been incepted. The insured is required to be transparent during the claims process. There is less consistency in national legislation regarding the implementation of transparency by insurers in the context of handling claims.




Understanding Insurance Law


Book Description

This comprehensive treatise can be used as the course text or as a supplement to any insurance law casebook. Includes the basic insurance law concepts as well as discussion of topical issues such as AIDS & genetic screening. Also available electronically.




Insurance and the Law of Obligations


Book Description

It is widely acknowledged that insurance has a major impact on the operation of tort and contract law regimes in practice, yet there is little sustained analysis of their interaction. The majority of academic private lawyers have little knowledge of insurance law in its own right, and the amount of discussion directed to insurance in private law theory is disproportionately small in relation to its practical importance. Filling this substantial gap in the literature, this book explores the multiple influences of insurance in the law of obligations, and the nature and impact of insurance law as an inherent and significant aspect of private law. It combines conceptual and doctrinal analysis, informing the theoretical discussion of the nature of private law, including the role of judicial and public purpose, and the place of formalism and of contextualism in normative theories of private law. Arguing for the wider recognition of the multiple impacts of insurance, the book claims that recognition of the presence of insurance necessarily marks a departure from the two-party framework sometimes described as definitive of private law. The structured exploration and interpretation of the contemporary role of insurance in the law of obligations, and of its implications, illuminates this under-explored area of private law, and equips the reader for further enquiry and debate.




Advanced Introduction to Insurance Law


Book Description

Providing a comprehensive overview of the body of law that regulates the insurance business, this Advanced Introduction evaluates the governing principles, policies, values, and purposes of insurance legislation and related judicial doctrines. It examines the ways in which the industry’s origins help us understand the present, and how insurance connects to major public policy issues that will shape the world for future generations.




The Law of Insurance Contracts


Book Description

"Widely regarded as the premier source to insurance contract law, it provides an exhaustive guide with detailed notes you can cite in court in a highly readable, fuss-free manner."




Insurance Law in a Nutshell


Book Description

Reliable source on the fundamentals of insurance law covers topics such as insurable interest, risk, insurer defenses, waiver and estoppel, recovery, subrogation, reinsurance, and bonds. In addition, expert analysis provides a sense of the peculiar directions insurance law would take, and their erroneous outcomes, if the pure principles of contract law were applied.




Insurance Practices and Coverage in Liability Defense


Book Description

Written by nationally recognized insurance law practitioners and academics, Insurance Practices and Coverage in Liability Defense, Second Edition (formerly titled Defending the Insured) provides the first comprehensive and objective analysis of the various duties and potential pitfalls confronting each party in the three-way relationship between insurance carrier, insured, and the appointed counsel in insurance defense. Each chapter provides a detailed discussion of topics engendered by the duty to defend and the consequent obligations of each of the parties. Reference tables and appendices then survey the law in each state on those topics. The result is a book that provides both a national study and state-specific analysis, allowing practitioners, courts and researchers the ability to see the big picture as well as to focus on and compare how states actually deal with the particular issue. Topics covered include: The use of staff counsel Billing guidelines Audits of attorneysand’ fees Reservations of rights Communication privileges and issues, and cooperation duties Conflicts of interest, control of the defense including independent counsel Allocation of defense costs between insurer and insured Allocation of indemnity expense between insurer and insured Allocation and determination of deductibles and SIRs Coverage allocation in multi-year, continuing loss cases, including horizontal and vertical exhaustion, stacking, and and“all sumsand” Application and features of judicial remedies of declaratory relief and intervention Insurance Practices and Coverage in Liability Defense, Second Edition is the book that combines practice and theory, that serves both the insurer and insured, the national practitioner and the local counsel, and informs courts where concurrence and divergence exist on the sometimes thorny, interrelated issues.




Research Handbook on International Insurance Law and Regulation


Book Description

'Global insurance and its rapidly evolving law and regulation demands international research. To this aim, the Handbook offers a truly international collection of essays. Highly renowned experts analyze the key topics currently under international discussion and development. While representing a diversity of national jurisdictions, the focus lies on the largest insurance jurisdictions (USA, UK and Germany) but newly important jurisdictions like Brazil and China are considered as well a most valuable and important contribution to international insurance law literature.' Manfred Wandt, Director of the Insurance Law Institute, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Germany 'This Research Handbook is published at an opportune time. A global review of insurance law and regulation is underway. Much reform happens locally with little reference to developments elsewhere and this Research Handbook brings the strands together. It is a comprehensive review by distinguished authors from different backgrounds including both leading academics and practitioners. They consider the definitions of insurance, its economic underpinnings, comparative law and regulations, actual and proposed reforms, the effects on underwriting and claims and how insurance is studied and taught. Good laws and regulation benefit the market and its customers. Bad laws and regulation do the opposite. This book is required reading for all involved in the reform process.' David Hertzell, Law Commissioner 'Globalisation has had no greater impact in the commercial world than on insurance, the law which governs it and the risks it seeks to address. Those who inspired this publication and the contributing authors, are to be thanked for providing such a necessary and useful reference source. It covers so much of what insurance professionals need to be aware of in the insurance/law world of the twenty first century.' Michael Gill, President of the International Insurance Law Association Given its economic importance, insurance is a field that has been underserved as an area of academic study. This detailed book provides much needed coverage of insurance law and regulation in its international context. Produced in association with Lloyd's, it draws on the expertise both of academics and practising lawyers. Containing 30 comprehensive chapters, it provides in-depth studies on key areas, such as the role of international organisations, the judicial interpretation of insurance contract clauses and transnational regulatory recognition. It also provides thorough introductions to important jurisdictions, including the EU, US and Japan as well as focusing on newly emerging economies such as China and Brazil. Specialist topics covered include regulation by and of Lloyd's, the tort of bad faith in the US, microinsurance and takaful insurance. This well-documented resource will appeal to academics and students in insurance law and regulation, policymakers and private practice lawyers. The book also aims to stretch the imagination of anyone with an interest in insurance law and regulation, providing detailed analysis and avenues for further investigation.