Risks of pandemic-related insurance – a public-private partnership on the horizon…

The enforceability of extension clauses relating to contagious or infectious diseases contained in certain business interruption insurance policies has raised legal and policy considerations, with different opinions being advanced from within legal circles. The South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and Prudential Authority (PA) (collectively, the Authorities) have released Joint Communication 5 of 2020.
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2020 (Re) Insurance arbitration in Latin America report

The use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for insurance and reinsurance has become a growing practice in Latin America. In particular, arbitration has been widely accepted as offering flexibility, celerity and high qualified and specialized arbitrators, generating confidence, guaranteeing access to the administration of justice and relieving congestion in the ordinary jurisdiction Arbitration regulations in
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California court revisits “Genuine issue doctrine” Applicability to consultant opinions

Andrew B. Downs In California, an insurer breaches the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it unreasonably and without proper cause deprives the policyholder of contractual benefits. For about twenty years, insurers in California have been able to use the existence of a “genuine issue” as to coverage as a ground for
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Save the date Insuralex 2020 AGM

Insuralex AGM – 2020 (Zoom) PLEASE SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING JULY 9 -10TH, 2020  
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Covid-19: Furlough FAQs

ONE MILLION businesses are using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to fund the wages of 7.5 million employees at a cost to the government of £12bn a month. The scheme, under which employers may apply for government grants equivalent to 80% of furloughed employees’ pay, has been a lifeline to firms in peril as a
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Cyber in the times of Covid-19: the cybercrime triad.

ABSTRACT: The exceptional situation that the world is living in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic has come with an increase in the exposure of companies and public institutions to cyber-attacks. Taking preventive (ex ante) and repair (ex post) measures is the key to a proper response to the cyber-risk, mitigating the potential harm of
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Business Inter/uption/pretation

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly led every business to assess their existing insurance cover in the hope that they have business interruption cover in place. Many would have been excited at the inclusion of a section titled “Business Interruption” in their policy wording, but in the insurance world, that blanket term does not guarantee cover
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Morrisons v Various Claimants (1 April 2020) Supreme Court

Judgment regarding application of vicarious liability test in Class Action against employer in context of malicious data use Supreme Court corrects misunderstanding of lower Courts’ interpretation of vicarious liability test and decides Morrisons supermarkets were not vicariously liable for their employee’s conduct The Supreme Court ruling of WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc v Various Claimants [2020]
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Insuralex´s Exclusive Member in California recommended as a leading firm in chambers USA 2020 survey

Bullivant attorneys Andrew Downs and Thomas Hutchinson have been recognized as ranked lawyers in the latest edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2020). Andrew Downs is ranked in California in the area of insurance law and Thomas Hutchinson is ranked in Oregon in the area of general commercial litigation. The Chambers guide, described as the most
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Covid-19: Some reinsurance perspectives

One hundred years after the Spanish flu pandemic, Marsh and Munich Re, in May 2018, launched an innovative parametric insurance product, PathogenRX. This provided insurance against business interruption caused by a pandemic. In October 2018, Marsh presciently observed in a paper entitled “Pandemic Readiness: Risk Finance and Mitigation Strategies”: “Although recent pandemics and epidemics have
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