Date / time
09/12/2016
1:00 pm

“Fraudulent claims – how much has changed in the last six months?”

The summer of 2016 has provided a number of decision on fraudulent claims, including two in the Supreme Court. The Insurance Act 2016 with its provisions on this subject is now in force. The case of Versloot divided opinion not just in the Supreme Court who decided it in July but also in the ranks of lawyers and insurers who pondered its implications. Some saw it as a “fraudster’s charter”; others as a rational step away from the most anomalous aspects of an anachronistic common law rule. The decision gives in one sense a simple answer to the key question posed on appeal, but it raises others, and provides much food for thought for insurance lawyers interested in the conceptual analysis as well as the result. Insurers were more successful in Zurich v Hayward, also concerning fraudulent claims. The talk will consider amongst other issues “what is fraud ?”, “what is a fraudulent claim ?” and what is the relevance of the post contractual duty of utmost good faith.

Our speaker is Richard Lord QC, leading counsel for the successful appellant assured in Versloot. Richard has specialised in commercial litigation and in particular in marine insurance since joining Brick Court Chambers over 30 years ago.