UCL Laws Semester in London

Module summary

While insurance law is significant in its own right it also plays a critical role in the development of other branches of the law. Insurance contracts obviously underpin commercial transactions, particularly contracts for goods and services (including consumer contracts) and international trade. Insurance law also pervades the policy issues not always openly avowed in the reasoning of the courts when deciding negligence cases and claims for breach of statutory duty. At its root, insurance is the means by which a party, the insured, shifts the risk of suffering a loss (for example, property, life, credit or potential liability) to another party, the insurer. As a specialist area of the law of contract, there is a rich body of case law together with a range of statutory interventions.

There is a rejuvenated movement pressing for reform and the English and Scottish Law Commissions are currently undertaking a fundamental review of insurance law. The first part of the project has recently been completed and new legislation, the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Bill, had its first reading in May 2011.

It is worth noting that students contemplating a career in the City will find the subject particularly relevant. Most City firms have insurance departments and these rank among their highest fee earners.

While this module focuses on the English law of insurance, many of the basic concepts are shared by other common law and civil law jurisdictions. Particular reference will be made to developments in the USA and Australia as a means of considering how similar problems/issues may receive different judicial/legislative responses elsewhere. Further, a slightly modified insurance law regime is evolving under the influence of European developments and the work of the EU Commission will, therefore, be encountered.

Module syllabus

The module covers the key components of the formation of the insurance contract, claims and the regulation of insurance business and insurance intermediaries. Although it does not cover marine insurance in its own right, reference will be made to the Marine Insurance Act 1906 and to the case law decided thereunder relevant to non-marine insurance contracts. The course is concerned with English law, but reference will be made to developments in other common law jurisdictions (e.g. the USA, Canada and Australia) in order to see how insurance law issues may receive different judicial/legislative responses elsewhere. Policy considerations underlying the law of insurance will be examined. Particular emphasis will be paid to key concepts such as the notion of ‘risk’ and ‘loss spreading’.

Recommended materials

Professor John Lowry is the co-author of the two of the principal text books:

• Insurance Law: Doctrines and Principles 3rd ed (Oxford, Hart, 2011)
• Insurance Law: Cases and Materials (Oxford, Hart, 2004)
  

Preliminary reading

• J. Lowry, P. Rawlings and R. Merkin, Insurance Law: Doctrines and Principles 3rd ed (Oxford, Hart, 2011)
• J. Lowry, ‘Redrawing the parameters of good faith in insurance contracts’ [2007] Current Legal Problems 338.