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.