Construing a policy of insurance
As the policy is a commercial contract, the Court should, in construing it, “ask what a reasonable businessperson would have understood [the relevant] terms to mean”: Electricity Generation Corporation t/as Verve Energy v Woodside Energy Ltd (2014) 251 CLR 640; [2014] HCA 7 (Electricity Generation) at [35]. The task is an objective one; it involves […]
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Interpretation of insurance exclusion clauses
The applicable principles are as follows: There was also no issue about the principles which govern the resolution of what lies in issue as to the proper construction of the endorsement to this insurance policy. Where an insurance company prepares the document, it is bound to make its meaning as clear as possible: Craine v […]
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From: Muriniti; Newell v Lawcover Insurance Pty Ltd (No 2) [2018] NSWCA 311 beginning at [39] Legal principles The principles governing the construction of insurance policies are well established and were not in dispute. In McCann v Switzerland Insurance Australia Ltd (2000) 203 CLR 579; [2000] HCA 65, Gleeson CJ stated, at [22]: “A policy of insurance, even […]
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Deed poll vs deed inter-parties?
The difference between a deed poll and a deed inter partes is absolutely crucial because of the difference as to who may enforce the deed in question. It is clear that any person named or sufficiently indicated in a deed poll may sue to enforce any obligation undertaken in that deed poll in his […]
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