Use of Smart Contracts

Background Awareness of distributed ledger technology (“DTL”) (also sometimes referred to as block chain technology) has increased in recent times, even if its purpose is not (yet) fully understood.  DTL is the technology which underpins numerous forms of tokenised assets such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs (non-fungible tokens).  It is also the technology which has enabled
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Reinsurance Round-Up 2021

Reinsurance Round-Up 2021 The all-pervading topic of conversation, worldwide, over the last year has been Covid-19. Much has been written about insurance coverage and there has been litigation in many countries. The FCA Test Case in London has received widespread international media coverage. Following on from that, the extent to which losses can be aggregated
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A new scope/purpose of duty test in professional negligence cases

A summary of the Supreme Court judgment in Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP   On 18 June 2021, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark judgment in the case of Manchester Building Society (MBS) v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20 in which it has provided further guidance in relation to the
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Legal obligations when Holidaymaker attacked by Hotel Employee

Holidaymaker succeeds in appeal to Supreme Court for compensation against her UK package travel organiser following ‘broad view’ approach that hotel employee’s guiding actions were ancillary services and not within the exemptions under applicable Package Travel regulations Package travel organisers will be reviewing their booking terms and conditions to clarify the holiday arrangements that they
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Don’t count on cover if diamonds aren’t forever…

Remedies for misrepresentation – Jones v Zurich Insurance Plc The loss of a diamond, with a value of £15,000, from a ring is not the sort of thing that one normally forgets in a hurry. However, a policyholder’s failure to disclose details of the claim made for that loss when proposing for insurance several years
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COVID-19 – ONE YEAR ON: Insurance implications

We reflect on the past year – and look at what is next for event cancellation, travel and life/protection insurers On 23 March 2021, the UK marked the anniversary of the announcement of its first coronavirus lockdown. On the same day, there was a glimmer of hope as the British & Irish Lions rugby union
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Does a failure to mediate inevitably lead to costs sanctions?

A summary of the case of Patel & Ors v Barlows & Ors [2020] EWHC 2795 (Ch) In our previous article, Mark Aizlewood and Dean De Cesare considered recent case law that highlighted the Courts’ increasing tendency to impose costs sanctions on litigants that failed to participate in the mediation process. In a slight reversal
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#InsuranceLaw Round up of 2020

Notwithstanding the significant lockdown period during the second quarter of the year, as well as the continuing restrictions that have been imposed since then, the courts have continued to operate. As a result, there have been a number of decisions, which will be of interest to both the insurance and reinsurance markets, some of which
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FCA Business Interruption Insurance Test Case – the Judgment

A summary of the judgment in the FCA business interruption insurance test case Following the 8-day hearing of the FCA business interruption insurance test case, which commenced on 20 July 2020 (you can read our summary of the hearing and the background to the claim here), the High Court handed down its judgment on 15
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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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