UK: Law Commission Update on Insurance Contract Law Reform Project

In its latest update published today, the Law Commission has confirmed that it intends to publish a final report and draft Bill focused on the reform of consumer insurance law in December 2009.

A summary of responses with respect to its Issues Paper on microbusinesses will be published in November 2009. In this Paper, the Commission invited views upon whether the smallest businesses should be treated like consumers for the purposes of pre-contractual information and unfair terms.

The Commission has also announced they are planning a programme of future work for early 2010 which includes:

• an Issues Paper on damages for late payment
• an Issues Paper on the insured's post-contractual duty of good faith
• a Policy Statement on non-disclosure, misrepresentation and warranties in business insurance.

EAPD Partner, Helen Clark, will be attending a discussion led by David Hertzell, the Commissioner in charge of this project, on 16 October 2009 and will report again shortly.