Understanding Insurance Contracts – from Introduction to Interpretation, Warranties & Exclusions

As disputes over business interruption insurance cover following the COVID-19 pandemic have illustrated, insurance contracts do not always respond in the way in which the parties expected. Insureds can find themselves without crucial protection while insurers may find themselves covering risks that they did not intend to insure.

how to understand policy exclusions, contracting out of the normal rules under the Insurance interpretation and exclusion and much more.

COURSE CONTENT

Introduction

In order to avoid these surprises, it is important to be aware of the particular rules that govern the interpretation of insurance agreements.

• The fundamental rules for the construction of insurance contracts
• The approach to resolving conflicting contractual terms
• Understand policy exclusions and the factors which will influence their interpretation and how ambiguities will be resolved
• Contracts may be interpreted differently depending on the nature of the insured and the circumstances of the contract
• Importance of contractual warranties, including how a breach of warranty may lead to the suspension or cancellation of cover and how insurers may still be liable for losses where the insured is in breach of a warranty
• Recognising conditions precedent to liability and how breach of a condition precedent can mean that insurers are entitled to reject claims in their entirety
• Contracting out of the normal rules under the Insurance functions

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

The training methodology combines lectures, discussions, group exercises and illustrations. Participants will gain both theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics. The emphasis is on the practical application of the topics and as a result participant will go back to the workplace with both the ability and the confidence to apply the techniques learned to their duties.