Papers by Franziska Arnold-Dwyer
Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, 2013
Insurance contracts are founded upon the doctrine of utmost good faith which, inter alia, require... more Insurance contracts are founded upon the doctrine of utmost good faith which, inter alia, requires the prospective insured to disclose material circumstances within its knowledge. This article examines the extent to which rumours in relation to, and false allegations of, dishonesty, criminality or misconduct by a business insured fall within the scope of its precontractual disclosure duties. If every false allegation must be disclosed, the insured may be placed in a situation where he must pay a higher premium or where he is refused insurance. Non-disclosure may entitle the insurer to avoid the contract. This article considers the current law and reform proposals in this area and argues that fairer outcomes in unfounded allegation scenarios could be achieved by adopting a proportional approach to materiality and by introducing a more flexible remedies regime. * LL.M., Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and M.Phil./Ph.D. candidate at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. I thank Professor John Lowry for his guidance and insightful comments on earlier drafts. However, responsibility for errors is mine alone.
The Modern Law Review, 2017
Over the last 11 years, the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission have worked on a joint... more Over the last 11 years, the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission have worked on a joint project to modernise the law of insurance contracts. Due to the size of the project, the Law Commissions proceeded in phases and separated out specific issues for legislative reform. Their proposals have already resulted in the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 and the Insurance Act 2015 which brought about significant changes for consumer and non-consumer insureds and insurers alike. This paper examines two further areas of reform: the introduction of an implied term about payment of insurance claims by insurers within a reasonable time and a statutory restatement of the doctrine of insurable interest. It considers the old and new substantive law and provides an insight into the reform process.
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Papers by Franziska Arnold-Dwyer