Late payment of insurance claims: The Enterprise Bill 2015

The Enterprise Bill 2015 will amend the Insurance Act 2015 by adding two further sections providing for damages against an insurer for late payment of claims. The measure was proposed by the English and Scottish Law Commissions in July 2014, but was omitted from the Insurance Bill presented to Parliament a few days later. The measure had encountered some market opposition and was felt by the government to be too controversial for inclusion in a Law Commission Bill that would attract an expedited Parliamentary procedure.

Despite spirited all-party attempts to persuade the government to change its mind, and opposition to late payment damages from only a small number of witnesses, the Bill passed without late payment provisions. The government did, however, undertake, to revisit the matter after the election. True to its word, the proposals have now reappeared.