Perils Flashcards
For fire there must be;
- Something on fire that shouldn’t be on fire
- Actual ignition
Austin v Drew (1816)?
- Held that great heat did not constitute a fire.
- There can be no fire without actual ignition
Is smoke damage covered?
As long as it resulted from a fire as that is the proximate cause.
Are cigarette burns covered?
Yes, as there had to be alight to cause the burns as stated by Insurance Ombudsman Bureau
Damage caused by electrical fault, resulting in overheating & melting of wires, with smoke. Is that covered under fire?
No, as not ignition therefore not a fire. - Insurance Ombudsman Bureau.
Harris v Poland (1941)?
- Fire
- Jewellery in fire grate for safe keeping
- Insured deliberately started fire
- Overlooked the deliberate part as this was accidental & not meant by insured.
- Constituted fire as something on fire that shouldn’t be & there was actual ignition.
Lightning definition?
- Oxford Dictionary
- “the occurrence of a natural electrical discharge of very short duration, between the cloud and the ground or within a cloud accompanied by a bright flash and typically also thunder.”
What can a lightning strike lead too?
- Outbreak of fire.
- Most common, damage to electrical wiring and appliances. Difficult to determine, may need assistance from electrical expert or forensic investigator.
What is explosion & case?
- Defined in Commonwealth Smelting Ltd v Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance (1984) as an event;
“violent, noisy and caused by rapid chemical or nuclear reaction or the bursting out of gas or vapour under pressure.”
EXPLOSION; Aegis Electrical and Gas International Services Co Ltd v Continental Casualty Co (2007)
The requirement of explosion is “manifest violence and shattering destruction.”
RIOT; S,1 of Public Order Act 1986 states; (5)
- 12 or more persons together use or threaten unlawful violence for a common purpose & conduct of them, is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present to fear for his personal safety, each of the persons using unlawful violence is guilty of riot.
- Immaterial whether or not 12 or more persons use of threaten unlawful violence simultaneously
- Common purpose may be inferred by conduct.
- No reasonable person of firmness need actually be or be likely to be present at the scene
- Riots may be committed in private as well as public areas.
What does the definition of Riot in the 1986 Act provide?
Will assist Insurers in deciding if the riot peril has operated.
Riot Compensation Act 2016
- Deals with claims for compensation for riot damage
- If persons property has been damaged, lost or stolen in the course of a riot & insurance company has paid out for this, then they are entitled to compensation from the local policing body.
Riot Compensation Act 2016; What is the maximum compensation payable?
£1,000,000 and personal injury is not covered by this Act
What is malicious damage?
Damage caused deliberately or accidently by trespassers, also described as vandalism
Who is usually excluded for MD & why?
- Tenants
- Persons legally allowed on premises
- Because they provide a bigger risk.
EOW provides cover for?
Damage resulting from EOW from;
fixed water instillation such as pipes, radiators, boilers or water tanks.
Why has the source of water (EOW) always to be established?
- To establish that cover exists
- To ensure water is arrested.
Typical EOW exclusions (3)?
- Water damage from any automatic sprinkler.
- Loss/damage during period of unoccupancy
- Damage caused over a period of time - ‘gradually operating clause’.
What is the meaning of storm within a policy?
- Rarely defined in policy wording
- Gradual increase in definitions by Insurers
Beaufort Scale, what is it?
- RELATES TO STORM
- It is found on the Meterological Office, most common scale to measure wind speed.
- Storm winds are 52 knots, would produce sea waves of 9m.
What are the case law relevant to storm?
- Oddy v Phoenix Assurance (1966)
- S&M Hotels v Legal & General Assurance Society (1972)
- Glasgow Training Group (Motor Trade) Ltd v Lombard Continental (1988)
Oddy v Phoenix Assurance (1966)?
DEFINED STORM;
“storm means storm and to me connotes some sort of violent wind, usually accompanied by rain or hail or snow.”
S&M Hotels v Legal & General Assurance Society (1972)?
“a storm must be something more prolonged & widespread than a gust of wind.”
Glasgow Training Group (Motor Trade) Ltd v Lombard Continental (1988)
Case law;
- Roof collapsed under weight of snow
- Lord Clyde held Q to be answered;
- Would any reasonable person of common sense, there at the time of loss, use language such as storm to describe the weather prevailing in the area.
- Damage was caused by storm by the definition in the policy
What is the FOS approach to storm?
Will ask 3 questions and if only one if answered likely to tell the Insurer to deal with claim;
1. Were there storm conditions around the date of the claim?
2. Is the damage claimed for consistent with damage typically caused by a storm?
3. Were storm conditions the main COD?
- Will also use the ‘but for’ test.
What are the three flood case law?
- Young v Sun Alliance (1977)
- Rohan Investments Ltd v Cunningham (1988)
- Tate Gallery (Trustees) v Duffy Construction Ltd and Another (2007 & 2008)
- FOS preference to the broader definition of flood in Rohan over Young v Sun Alliance.
Young v Sun Alliance (1977)?
- Court of appeal held that word ‘flood’ must be read in the context of a clause.
- Words in the clause were ‘storm, tempest & flood.’
- Flood was regarded as being confined to inundations of water brough about by severe weather conditions
Rohan Investments Ltd v Cunningham (1988)?
- Insureds flat, damaged by an influx of water, resulting from heavy rainfall lasting a period of some days
- Court of appeal heard that there had been a flood within the meaning of the policy.
Tate Gallery (Trustees) v Duffy Construction Ltd and Another (2007 & 2008)
Jackson S set out a test flood, and to consider the following;
1. was source of water natural
2. was source of water internal or external
3. the quantity of water
4. the manner of it’s arrival
5. area & character of the property up which the water was deposited
6. whether the arrival of water was an abnormal event
Why do Insurers ask where the nearest water course is or whether the water course is within x m?
- To propose the risk for the chance of floods.
What does Damage to Underground Services cover?
- Pipes
- Sewers
- Drains
- Cables
- PW to be checked to see how much cover available.
- Underground services, predominantly water pipes.
What is a drain & what is a sewer?
- Drain concerns one property - may require examination of the deeds
- Sewer can concern several properties.
Accidental Damage?
- Is an all risk cover
- Can only be excluded for an exclusion such as wear & tear and gradual deterioration
- Insured only needs to prove it was by accident
Leeds Beckett University v Travelers Insurance Company Ltd (2017)
- Student accommodation block
- Had all risks insurance
- To decide whether damage is accidental court identified;
1. Needs to prove loss caused by some fortuitous event, but does not have to prove exact nature of accident.
2. AD means damage occurred by chance and not wilful or deliberate
3. AD does not mean damage is inevitable
4. The inevitability of an event is assessed at time insurance is taken out.
