Court Cases

Question 1

Castellain vs. Preston

Answer 1

Subject-matter of the contract

Question 2

Rozanes vs. Bowen

Answer 2

The assured must make a full disclosure to the underwriter without being asked of all the material circumstances

Question 3

Carter vs. Boehm

Answer 3

The underwriter trusts the proposers’ representation

Question 4

Kettlewell vs. Refuge Assurance Company

Answer 4

Misleading an insured about a policy cover is a breach of utmost good faith

Question 5

Roselodge vs. Castle

Answer 5

The judge ridiculed the insurer’s suggestion that the fact the proposer was caught stealing when he was 12 would be material to an application for insurance many years later

Question 6

Oei vs. Foster

Answer 6

Chip-pan fire

Question 7

Coles vs. Hetherton

Answer 7

Insurers seeking vehicle repair costs at the market rate, when work was carried out by their own repair network at a discounted rate, was lawful

Question 8

Currie vs. Misa

Answer 8

Definition of consideration - each person’s side of the bargain which supports the contract

Question 9

Dalby vs. The India and London Life Assurance Company

Answer 9

There need be no value insurable interest at the time of a claim for a life insurance policy

Question 10

Gloystarne & Co Ltd. vs. Mr G S Martin

Answer 10

Apparent (ostensible) authority - for an agent that claims to act on behalf of a principal it takes the principal’s conduct to indicate that the agent is acting on their behalf, or if they don’t have authority to carry out certain tasks, the way to determine whether a contract is valid is if the actions carried out by the agent is of the kind that is usual in the trade or profession

Question 11

Household Fire Insurance Co. vs. Grant

Answer 11

The rule that contract acceptance is made when the letter of acceptance is posted applies even if the letter is delayed, lost or destroyed in the post and never reaches the offeror

Question 12

Hyde vs. Wrench

Answer 12

Conditional acceptance

Question 13

Leyland Shipping vs. Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society

Answer 13

Causation is not a chain but a net, proximate cause is proximate in efficiency

Question 14

Lister vs. Romford Ice and Cold Storage Ltd.

Answer 14

Cannot pursue subrogation rights against a fellow employee

Question 15

Lucena vs. Craufurd

Answer 15

The law will not allow that the man due to inherit an estate has any interest, or anything more than a mere expectation

Question 16

Marsden vs. City & County Insurance Co.

Answer 16

It was not inevitable that a crowd would gather and riot after the fire

Question 17

North British and Mercantile vs. Liverpool London and Globe, known as Queen and King Canaries

Answer 17

Contribution only applies where the policies cover a common interest in the subject-matter, i.e. the insurable interest is the same

Question 18

Pawsey vs. Scottish Union and National

Answer 18

Proximate cause means the active, efficient cause that brings about a chain of events without the intervention of any new force

Question 19

Williams vs. Baltic Assurance Association

Answer 19

No evidence for interest subsisting at the time of inception, must be a reasonable expectation of acquiring interest

Question 20

Yorkshire Insurance Co. vs. Nisbet Shipping Co.

Answer 20

Insurers not entitled to recover more through subrogation than they have paid out, e.g. through exchange rates