WORDINGS PALIMPSESTS

H SF delivered an outstanding update on the prevention of access clauses last Tuesday (15 March 2022) in a format slightly different from their annual report of cases. And my turn to have a go on this proof of assignment! The FCA Test Case had a selection of wordings which were in the judgement more or less set out in a manichean classification. There was scope for disagreement in some of the conclusions and that is what the court marvellously achieved in the Corbin & King v AXA Insurance Plc [2022] EWHC 409 case. This decision is also going the opposite direction from that taken by the Irish High Court in Brushfield Ltd (trading as The Clarence Hotel) v AXA Insurance Designated Activity Company & Another [2021] IEHC 263 !   Policyholders can expect new Prevention of Access [POA] tests as a detailed analysis of the hybrid clauses and the overall context can change everything. Covid-19 was a “danger” and that the prevention of access clause in the case provided local...

There are more excluded territories or sanctioned countries (from an insurance geopolitical standpoint) that are genuine members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as opposed to observation members. In contract law only political risk insurance would help entities deal with the negative effects of sanctions on their revenue and/or profitability. Insurance contracts used to have a trade and sanctions clause mentioning the WTO. It suddenly changed when the sanction limitation exclusion clause came to the fore. It is baffling that the WTO stance on the war in the Ukraine is being ignored. Wordings matter in geopolitical times. MORE than ever. The Washington Post contends that the WTO agreements do not include a provision that explicitly authorizes expulsion. In such contracts it would appear that no criteria, such as maintaining democratic order, that might provide grounds for suspension were established. This is astonishing and appears to contradict what, as part of the Davo...