On 14 November 2024 the New Zealand Parliament passed two major pieces of insurance law reform: the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 and the Contracts of Insurance (Repeals and Amendments) Act 2024. These measures have – with some important modifications – brought New Zealand law into line with English law on the issues of presentation of the risk and late payment. The Acts also consolidate a number of statutory principles dating back over 100 years, many of which the UK’s Insurance Act 2015 might have – at least in the opinion of the present author – done well to adopt. This article summarises the changes in New Zealand and compares the new regime there with that in the UK

Professor Kenneth Abraham (University of Virginia) analyzes the ways in which insurance and insurance law act as a gatekeeper to certain activities (e.g., driving, homeowning, handling of hazardous chemicals) and how the devices insurance uses to combat moral hazard (e.g., risk-based pricing, partial insurance, coverage exclusions) do and do not function effectively.

This paper pays tribute to the legacy of Professor Malcolm Clarke and reflects on an area where his work was of a considerable influence: the application of the law of illegality to insurance contracts. The paper revisits some of the long-standing issues around illegality in insurance contracts in light of modern case law by reflecting on the work of Professor Clarke. The fundamental question is whether the insured is able to enforce its contractual claim to indemnity despite its illegal conduct in the circumstances surrounding the loss. It is argued that the needs of the insurance market in this regard are best served by a rule which allows ‘localisation’, that is, context specificity. A rule which seeks to provide a single rule across all contracts, all torts and all examples of restitution lacks the flexibility required for insurance markets. On this basis, the gradual shift towards a rule which has a broadly discretionary basis favours insurance more than a closely structured model.

This article discusses the reform project of the English Law Commission, and the main reforms introduced in the Arbitration Act 2025. It also evaluates the practical effect of the reform for insurance law and policyholders who may resort to arbitration. It also provides an overall critical evaluation of the reform project and the lessons to be learned for other jurisdictions. In particular, this article will examine the arbitration law reform consultation recently launched in Singapore. In March 2025, the Law Ministry launched the consultation with a view to also potentially alter its arbitration law, the Singapore 1995 International Arbitration Act.

In Sky UK Ltd v Riverstone [2024] EWCA Civ 1567, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the wetting of the internal timber components of a new roof during construction amounted to property damage, because wetting of timber amounted to an impairment which, in turn, was damage even if the impairment was transient. The court further held that insurers remain liable for deterioration and development of damage occurring after the policy period, provided it flows from insured damage within the policy term. The ruling clarifies that the insuring clause defines the peril, not the limit of damages. Insurers have appealed to the Supreme Court, raising significant questions about the nature of insured events and contractual obligations in property insurance.

Microinsurance coverage is a financial tool offered to those living in poverty. Because microinsurance aids in the acquisition and maintenance of several fundamental rights, such as the right to property, the right to equality, the right to socioeconomic well-being, the right to self-determination, and the right to development, should microinsurance be classified as a fundamental right? When microinsurance is employed to offer social security benefits, which are a fundamental right, to those who would otherwise have no access, is microinsurance then automatically a fundamental right? We examine the characteristics of insurance and microinsurance, and how fundamental rights are defined, granted, and enforced, in order to answer these questions.