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Insurance Law

Module description

Insurance is a key means of managing and transferring risk. It is a pervasive topic and a working knowledge of insurance law will prove useful in many areas of practise.
Given the importance of insurance, it may seem odd that until recently the law was widely perceived to be archaic, unclear and unfair, with much of the law having been settled in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 2005 the English and Scottish Law Commissions started a joint review of insurance law. This has led to the passing of two important pieces of legislation: the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 and the Insurance Act 2015. Further recommendations are awaiting implementation. The reforms are not retrospective and given the long-term nature of some insurance contracts, practitioners need to be aware of both “old” and “new” law.
You will examine the rationale for the new division between consumer and business insureds and will study the new and old law for each group. Particular attention will be paid to the three key areas—disclosure and representations, warranties and insurable interest. The law reform process will be considered and the role of the Financial Ombudsman Service will be discussed.
This module will complement other commercial law modules but is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist students.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to provide you with:

• a good working knowledge of the core areas of insurance law, reflecting the changes recently introduced under the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 and the Insurance Act 2015
• an understanding of the respective roles of self-regulation, statutory regulation and ombudsmen;
• insights into the way law is shaped, the lobbying power of industry, the willingness or reluctance of judges to intervene and the effectiveness of the law reform process—considering the respective roles of the Law Commissions and Parliament;
• an external view of insurance, centred on the Equality Act 2010.

The module will enable you to:

• assess critically the old and new law, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each,
• identify which set of insurance law rules apply in any given situation and to advise on their impact,
• explain when the service offered by the Financial Ombudsman Service is available and how its approach may differ from that of the courts, 
• evaluate the effectiveness of the law reform process, using insurance as a case study

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the law relating to insurance and a substantial range of major concepts, values and principles relevant to its application.
• 2. Compare, analyse and synthesise the principal rules and theories relating to insurance.
• 3. Identify, explain and critically evaluate key issues in insurance and to apply relevant rules and theories.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Flexibly define complex legal problems, identify their relative significance and select appropriate methods for investigating and critically evaluating them.
• 5. Select, integrate and present coherently and reflectively, relevant law and legal/theoretical arguments.
• 6. Apply legal knowledge to a case study and to suggest a conclusion supported by relevant arguments.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Communicate and engage in debate effectively and accurately, in a manner appropriate to the discipline and in different contexts.
• 8. Identify, retrieve and use efficiently a range of resources with minimum guidance.
• 9. to work independently, within a limited time frame, to complete a specified task.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The nature and purpose of insurance

• Pre-contractual utmost good faith

• Conduct of Business regulation

• The Financial Ombudsman Service

• The law reform process

• Disclosure and representations

• Warranties

• Insurable interest

• Post-contractual utmost good faith

• Fraud

• Third Parties (Rights against Insurers)

• Subrogation

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Professor John Birds, Birds' Modern Insurance Law, Sweet & Maxwell, 10^th Edition, 2016, ISBN: 9780414055674

Peter J Tyldesley (Editor), Consumer Insurance Law, Bloomsbury Professional, 1^st Edition, 2013, ISBN: 9781847669186

Reference only:

Professor John Birds; Ben Lynch; Simon Milnes, MacGillivray on Insurance Law, 13^th Edition, 2015, ISBN:  9780414050723

Key words search

Insurance, law reform, Financial Ombudsman Service