New UK Insurance Act Implements Recommendations of Joint English/Scottish Law Commission Report

I often wonder whether law reform commission reports ever have any real impact. From time to time, an example comes along that shows that it is indeed the case that a report influences actual legislation.

Last week, the Insurance Act 2015 received Royal Assent in the United Kingdom.

The Act implements a series of reforms recommended by the English and the Scottish Law Commissions to modernize and simplify insurance contract law across the UK. This includes changes to matters relating to disclosure and misrepresentation, warranties and remedies for fraudulent claims.

The joint project by both law commissions was ambitious in scope and has had an important impact:

"The project began in January 2006. The teams working on the project at the two Commissions issued a scoping paper, inviting views on which areas of insurance contract law were in need of reform. In the light of the responses received, the teams published a paper setting out their decisions on the scope of the project. The first consultation, in 2007, covered pre-contract issues in consumer and business insurance. The size of the project led the Commissioners to design a phased programme of work (separating pre-contract consumer and business issues)."

"Our first report on Consumer Insurance Law was laid before Parliament in December 2009 and the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Bill was introduced in the House of Lords under the Special Bills Procedure in May 2011. The Bill was a priority for us in 2011. The Bill, now the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, came into force on 6 April 2013."

"The Law Commissions' second joint consultation covering post contractual issues: damages for late payment, remedies for fraudulent claims, insurable interest and policies and premiums in marine insurance, closed in March 2012. Our third consultation on disclosure in business insurance and warranties was published on 26 June 2012. That consultation closed in September 2012. The results of these consultations fed into the second report and draft Bill, published on 17 July 2014. This covers disclosure in business insurance, warranties, remedies for fraudulent claims, and late payment."