A Critical Analysis of Causation Rules in Marine Insurance

<div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"><tbody><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><p class="AbstractText">The United Kingdom has regulated Marine Insurance in great detail in some laws and regulations, but these regulations do not seem to have been fully implemented. This study will discuss the Causation Rules in Marine Insurance. More specifically, this article has looked at the impact of the development of the causation rules in marine insurance after implementing MIA 1906. This study argues that the efficiency test is now be regarded as a historical precedent of the causation rules. What is clear is that the operation of the efficiency test alters the rule which previously relied on a question of law by looking at the latest cause of the loss to recognize a question of fact by measuring the most predominant cause of the loss. However, it does not mean that the newest cause of the loss is automatically disregarded. An immediate cause may be proximate if it has an efficient and predominant effect to cause the loss.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

Sharing the Risk

Insurance makes use of the law of large numbers to mitigate the effects of risks on individuals by allowing them to be shared collectively. Early insurance arrangements arose as friendly societies and mutual insurance companies. Marine insurance has a long history and remains a major insurance market. Fire insurance provides compensation in the face of a capricious and frightening risk, but also invites fraudulent claims. Increasing amounts of information provide challenges for insurance underwriting: can there be too much information? The principle of insurance is that of averaging out of independent risks, but when risks are not independent, as may be the case when it comes to climate change, is there still any role for insurance?

ENGLISH INSURANCE LAW REFORMS: LESSONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA

Insurance law in the United Kingdom (UK) has recently undergone significant reforms. Until 2015, insurance law in the United Kingdom was still largely regulated by the Marine Insurance Act 1906. This meant that a statute created over a hundred years ago was still regulating insurance law. The need for the more recent reforms was evidently dire. The Law Commission undertook an investigation that highlighted the need for new insurance laws. The result was the enactment of the Insurance Act 2015. There are some significant changes in the new Act concerning fraudulent claims, breaches of good faith and the duty of disclosure. The new laws appear to be much more pro-policyholder than was the case in the previous regime. This article undertakes a detailed analysis of these reforms and also presents a comparison with South African laws. The ultimate question is whether South Africa can learn anything from the recent reforms to UK insurance law.

Operation Efficiency Analysis of Commercial Hull Insurance Business —— Based on DEA Model

Hull insurance is a kind of Marine insurance, which takes various types of ships as the subject matter of insurance and covers all or part of the losses caused by natural disasters and accidents and the possible liability compensation incurred by them when they are sailing on the sea or berthing in the harbor. A time policy or a voyage policy shall be adopted for Hull insurance. Its characteristic is insurance liability is limited to water only. With the development of economy and the expansion of shipping, China’s Hull insurance industry has developed rapidly. However, no one has studied the operating efficiency of China’s commercial Hull insurance. This paper analyzes the operating efficiency of Hull insurance through DEA analysis method and puts forward relevant suggestions.

Shared burdens: The General Average adjustment of the Jan Maria

The Jan Maria was a Dutch schooner that, in 1883, en route from the Baltic to its home port, was forced to jettison cargo during a fierce storm, which resulted in a General Average (GA) procedure. GA refers to a method that redistributes damages that were deliberately inflicted by the master, in order to save the ship and its cargo, among all those parties that benefited from the action. The report of this procedure of the Jan Maria has been preserved and is exceptional in its completeness. It offers a unique view on a complex procedure and also on the coping mechanisms of small-scale entrepreneurs in a volatile business environment. In this article, I will explain the principle and functioning of GA, and I will argue that, in spite of financial innovations like marine insurance, GA remained an important part of risk management.