Siu Yin Kwan and another v. Eastern Insurance Co. Ltd. (The Barquentine Osprey) - Privy Council (Lord Templeman, Lord Mustill, Lord Woolf, Lord Lloyd and Sir Thomas Eichelbaum) - 9 December 1993

Insurance policy indemnified named assured - Proposal form signed by named assured without qualification of agency - Whether undisclosed principal entitled to sue on the policy

The plaintiffs were the personal representatives of two members of the crew of the vessel Barquentine Osprey which was hit by the typhoon “Ellen” and capsized in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, on 8 September 1983. The plaintiffs were awarded $242,000 as damages against the employers, Axelson Company Ltd., the owners of the vessel, under the Employees Compensation Ordinance. They were also awarded damages for negligence against the employers in the sums of $589,091 and $443,000 respectively. However, Axelson was wound up by order of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong before any of the judgments could be satisfied.