Understanding the implications of policy exclusions following Covid-19

We welcome all members & guests to attend an afternoon webinar, via Zoom. This highly topical and timely webinar is being delivered by Alan Chandler one of the most popular presenters in the UK. We welcome back Alan to provide this further webinar for us.

Overview

We know pretty much the whole market will apply some sort of pandemic exclusion for pandemics/covid-19 or more worryingly the words communicable diseases will be used, this starts bringing all sorts of extra scenarios that will be excluded for clients. Importantly, this will be for liability as well as property and BI and could leave a policyholder with a lawsuit that is not covered by their insurance policy.

How exclusions are worded will be incredibly significant, with some proposed wordings being very scary indeed. An example being 'losses whether caused directly or indirectly by communicable diseases are excluded' - this does not look too scary, but it is! If there is an escape of water which could have been stopped if the building had been occupied but was empty due to a local lockdown then this could be turned down, the disease does not have to be the proximate cause with this proposed wording.

All insurance staff need to understand the law relating to exclusions. This webinar will take delegates on a plain English walk on how the law applies to policy exclusions and proximate cause, so that they can explain to clients clearly and confidently the implications of the differing communicable disease exclusions that will be applied to your policyholders wordings.

This webinar is suitable for brokers, underwriters, claims staff and loss adjusters.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, participants will be able to understand:

• How the law views insurance policy exclusions.
• How the Consumer Rights Act, Unfair Contract Terms Act and Employers Liability Act deals with insurance exclusions.
• How proximate cause applies in insurance.
• What is an insured peril, uninsured peril and excluded peril and what happens if more than one acts together.
• What if the insurer excludes a cause whether caused directly or indirectly by a peril (sometimes known as the proximate cause or not) and why this must be resisted if possible.
• The likely legal position around the proposed communicable disease exclusions on first party claims.
• The likely legal position around communicable disease exclusion on third party claims - including looking at the H&S at work regulations 1999, H&S at work act 1974, also looking at could negligence be established against a policyholder under public liability.

About the speaker:

Alan has undertaken operational management roles in three major global companies - NatWest Insurance Services, RBS Insurance Group and Allianz Insurance. He has run underwriting, broking and claims functions. Eleven years ago he set up his own training company, something that he had always longed to do as he is passionate about training. Since then he has trained well over a thousand people to become ACII qualified including six individuals who have achieved the best ACII completion in the whole of the United Kingdom, he has also trained many national prize winners. Alan has delivered training for almost all the institutes in the UK over the past few years with his enthusiastic presenting style proving very popular. He is one of the few individuals who can teach at all levels of the CII examinations, he teaches almost all certificate, diploma and advanced diploma subjects and is one of the few people who can take someone from certificate all the way through to fully qualified ACII and his pass rates exceed 96%. Alan has presented across Europe on many technical subjects to companies including Allianz, Zurich, Aon, Marsh and Willis. He has been involved in the setting up of many diploma and advanced diploma programmes in both the UK and Ireland and is driven by a passion to see increased professionalism within the insurance industry.

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