Insurance Law Monthly

In Irwell Insurance Co Ltd v Watson [2021] EWCA Civ 67 the Court of Appeal has upheld the first instance decision of Kerr J holding that employment tribunals have jurisdiction to determine transferred rights claims under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010.

When the House of Lords decided in Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd [2002] Lloyd’s Rep Med 361 that an employee who contracted mesothelioma after having been exposed to asbestos by a number of different employers was entitled to sue any one of the employers for the full amount of the loss, the way was paved for nearly two decades of litigation on the unintended consequences of that ruling. The Compensation Act 2006 and ruling of the Supreme Court in International Energy Group Ltd v Zurich Insurance plc UK Branch [2015] Lloyd's Rep IR 598 meant that the liability insurer of any one employer was liable to provide an indemnity for the entirety of the loss even though the insurer was on risk for only a part of the period of exposure.

Under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 the vast majority of employers are required to hold liability insurance in respect of claims by employees. By comparison with the compulsory insurance regime for motor insurance, the employment scheme is decidedly weak. The decision of Master Davison in Komives v Hick Lane Bedding Ltd [2020] EWHC 3288 (QB) highlights at least one of its major defects.

In Grant v International Insurance Company of Hanover Ltd 2019 SC 379 the Inner House of the Court of Session ruled that an exclusion for liability arising out of deliberate or wilful acts applied only where the loss or injury inflicted by the assured was intended: the exclusion did not extend to deliberate acts giving rise to unintended loss or injury.

In Rawson Homes Pty Ltd v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd [2020] NSWSC 1654 the question was how many deductibles were to be borne by the assured under a construction policy where a hailstorm damaged 122 houses. The answer turned on the meaning of “event” and “claim” as used in a somewhat complex policy.