The Georgia Court of Appeals (US) found that payment of premiums by house owners insurance policyholders to their insurance agent was not payment to the insurer where notice had been given to the policyholders to pay directly to the insurer. In October 2014, the insurer sent a renewal notice to the policyholders requiring them to pay premiums directly to the insurer. When no payments were received the insurer sent a cancellation notice in December 2014…

A Texas district court held that 124 claims for food poisoning from salmonella bacteria suffered by patrons at a restaurant was one ‘occurrence’ within the terms of the restaurant’s insurance policy. An occurrence was defined as ‘an accident including continuous or repeated exposure to the same general harmful conditions’. An occurrence was ‘an accident’ and not ‘a series of accidents’ and focus had to be placed on the cause of the injuries rather than the…

A conveyor company failed in its claim against its insurers for a loss arising from the supply of a defective cookie packaging machine to a biscuit manufacturer because the policy specifically excluded coverage for “impaired property”.  The claim by the biscuit manufacturer against the insured alleged that they were unable to use their new building because it contained the defective cookie packing system as a result of the insured’s failure to fulfil its contractual obligation…

In a matter regarding unlawful surveillance the Constitutional Court held that the proper functioning of our legal system is reliant on the confidentiality of communications between lawyer and client. That promotes the rule of law. Although originally sourced from the common law, legal professional privilege is now supported by the Constitution. The court reaffirmed a previous decision that legal professional privilege is an essential part of the rights to a fair trial and fair hearing.…

An interesting case involving international law was heard in the US Supreme Court and lead to the conclusion that the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act which reflects international law does not entitle a foreign state to interfere with what is known as a ‘domestic taking’ where the state takes the property of its own nationals. The ‘domestic takings rule’ derives from the premise that international law customarily concerns relations among states, not relations between states…

Concerned about pandemic-related extra cyber activity, the rise in ransomware and recent cyber-espionage campaigns, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a cyber-insurance risk framework on 4 February 2021. After describing the risks for insurers and concluding that insurers play a critical role in mitigating and reducing the risks of cyber-crime, the Framework recommends the following approach by insurers proportionate to their risks: Establish a formal cyber-insurance risks strategy; Manage and eliminate…