The nine years since the publication of the previous edition of this work have seen considerable legislative and judicial activity relevant to the law and practice of insurance. Statutory milestones have included the Road Traffic Act 1988, the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, the Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990, the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1991, the Arbitration Act 1996 and the Policyholders Protection Act 1997. The House of Lords has been busy also, delivering major judgments on non-disclosure, breach of warranty, subrogation, the interpretation of contracts of insurance and reinsurance and the operation of the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 and the Policyholders Protection Act 1975. Under the circumstances, a new edition of this work is very welcome.

The scope of the work remains the same as that of the previous edition; confined to non-marine insurance except where reference to marine principles is an aid to exposition. The topics covered are also the same, presented in the familiar format of a first part devoted to general principle and a second to the discussion of specific contracts. In addition to updating the text to account for new developments, the authors have undertaken an intelligent rationalization of the structure of the work. Each major topic of principle has its own chapter, presented in a sequence which corresponds as closely as possible to the likely evolution of the contract itself. The authors’ intention is plainly that the two parts of the work should be considered in tandem, since material in the sections relating to specific classes of business can offer valuable insight in relation to general issues. Causation is a good example. Chapter 19 (Loss) can usefully be supplemented with the relevant parts of Chapter