Riverdale Insurance reviews the Act, which is currently going through parliament, and explains how it will change the (re)insurance landscape.
Following the conclusion of HM Treasury’s consultation on the proposed bill drafted by the Law Commissions of England, Wales and Scotland, an amended bill has now been presented to parliament. The bill will be following the special parliamentary procedure for uncontroversial Law Commission bills and it is therefore possible that it will now be passed before the end of the current parliamentary session (30 March 2015).
If royal assent is obtained, the Insurance Act 2015 will apply to every insurance policy and reinsurance contract written in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and (with certain exceptions set out below) will come into force 18 months after the date it is passed. This will allow time for policy wordings to be amended, where necessary.
The Law Commissions have indicated that they are aiming to produce a third and final report in 2015 on various issues that were not addressed in the bill but that have been the subject of review and proposals in earlier papers.
These include the proposed abolition of the need for a formal marine policy (section 22 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906) and reform of section 53(1) of the 1906 Act, which makes a broker liable to pay premiums to the insurer and applies only to marine insurance policies.
