Published: Friday, April 11, 2008
Author: Patrick Perry, Jonathan Scragg
Published in: Insurance Day
Subject: Insurance

The UK High Court's recent decision in Kajima UK Engineering Ltd v Underwriter Insurance Co Ltd (2008) offers guidance on how the English courts construe notifications of circumstances made by insureds under 'claims made' policies. In this case, the insured notified insurers of property defects within the policy period but in the following years increasingly serious problems were discovered. The court held that notification was only effective in relation to the specific circumstances notified. Claims arising from defects unrelated to the problems identified within the original notification were not covered. The article looks at the implications of the decision alongside other recent judgments.