Professional Indemnity Insurance Law 3rd Edition

Cited in courts and leading commentaries in Australia and in the United Kingdom, this text of scholarship and depth offers practitioners insights into both the current law of professional indemnity insurance and its future direction.

Professional Indemnity Insurance Law addresses the essential question of the extent to which the professional is covered for various professional liabilities, doing so with reference to the wider commercial context and the context of insurance more generally.

The text offers a two-strand approach, ouProfessional Indemnity Insurance Law explains the extent to which professionals are covered for different liabilities. This new edition has been significantly updated and maintains its analytical and solutions-based approach to make it a valuable resource for insurers and the assured.

Part One looks at the law affecting professional indemnity insurance – both pre-contract and contract. It examines the relationship among professions and breaks down key contractual principles and terms including utmost good faith, risk, representations, premiums and the period.

Part Two moves on to the triggers and coverage elements necessary to establish a claim and contains chapters on third party loss, cause of action, remedies and ascertainment of the assured’s loss. Part Three concludes with consideration of claims, illegality and misconduct, as well as addressing other benefits an insurer provides to an assured in relation to a claim.

• Explains the law governing professional indemnity insurance, providing clear guidance on the extent to which professionals are covered for different liabilities.
• Takes a detailed look at pre-contract matters and addresses the key principles of utmost good faith, fair presentation of the risk and representation.
• Looks at elements of the contract such as insurable interest, formation and policy terms and also outlines the current position on exclusions and exemptions.
• Covers the main terms and clauses of a professional indemnity insurance contract.
• Considers third-party loss: economic, personal injury and property damage.
• Examines different causes of action against the assured and their application to specific professions.
• Outlines the different remedies available including damages, consequential loss, interest, recission, injunction, specific performance, restitution and unjust enrichment.
• Explains the procedure behind the claims process, its time limits and ancillary issues like subrogation.
• Detailed coverage of illegality and misconduct and the evolving law surrounding fraudulent claims.
• Addresses the assured’s loss and the three financial components: third-party costs and expenses, the amount paid and defence costs.

The third edition has been significantly updated and restructured throughout with new features including:

• Chapter 2 considers key cases affecting pre-contract matters including: WISE Underwriting Agency Ltd v Grupo Nacional Provincial; Berkshire Assets (West London) v AXA Insurance UK; and Niramax Group Ltd v Zurich Insurance.
• Chapter 7 looks at the recent case of ARC Capital Partners v Brit Syndicates on the meaning of a “claim” in the context of third-party claims against the assured.
• Commentary on the evolving law on fraudulent claims in light of the Supreme Court decision in Versloot Dredging.
• The ascertainment principle for legal liability cover is given extensive treatment in Chapter 10 with discussion of: Teal Assurance Company v WR Berkley Insurance; AstraZeneca Insurance Co v XL Insurance (Bermuda); Cultural Foundation v Beazley Furlonge; and more.
• The rights of a third-party to claim directly against the insurer are looked at in Chapter 11 with commentary on Rashid v Direct Savings. Recent COVID-19 cases, including Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance, are also considered.
• Chapter 12 has been comprehensively updated in light of the Supreme Court decision in Patel v Mirza to reflect the principle of considering illegality flexibly.

tlining the nature, development and application of the indemnity principle within an analysis of the professional indemnity insurance contract.  The first strand develops a reconsideration of insurance law around the indemnity principle; the second strand offers a more traditional text book treatment of professional indemnity insurance, with statements of law fully supported by authority, yet indicating also the penumbral issues – further helping practitioners with limited resources or experience in the area. In defining and amplifying the indemnity obligation, the text distinguishes it from a measure of damages to a primary obligation and demonstrates how the application of the indemnity principle helps bring coherence and flexibility to insurance law and practice. Applications considered include utmost good faith, representations and disclosures, illegality, parties and assignment, claims, subrogation, and insolvency.

The central question of the extent to which the professional is indemnified is tackled via practical applications, with clauses in various types of professional indemnity insurance put in their commercial, contractual and legal context.

Legal practitioners will value comprehensive and authoritative coverage, extending from the nature and extent of the legal relationship between a professional and client through to the detailed discussion of sample clauses to be found in modern professional indemnity policies. Australian law receives substantial consideration throughout.

The text was recently honoured with the 2008 British Insurance Law Association Book Prize, awarded for "the most notable contribution to literature in the field of law as it affects insurance".

The authors
Ian Enright, Partner, Henry Davis York, Sydney, Australia, a financial services lawyer for over 25 years including 6 years in the London markets, has designed, developed and led the teaching for an Australian insurance Master of Laws degree and is an active independent director of financial services corporations.

Dr Digby Jess, Barrister, Exchange Chambers, is a respected UK practitioner and author.


From the reviews of the first edition

"[A] ll the hallmarks of something that will become a major text for this increasingly complex area. It is well written, lovingly cross-referenced and meticulously thorough." – Litigation

"The quality of the research… is exceptionally high and the result is a work of great authority.” – International Insurance Law Review

 

Jurisdiction: UK/Cth

 

General Downloads

• Professional Indemnity Insurance Law 2e Table of Contents [PDF 22700]

Product Reviews

• Review:lawyerslawyersDec08 [PDF 33430]