•What Insurance Crisis - Is There Really One Following The Collapse Of HIH And FAI?
Many commentators have gone out of their way to suggest there was an insurance crisis and that it arose out of increased litigation, more successful claims and higher awarded damages which led to the unaffordability of public, products and professional indemnity insurance. There is no doubt that the liability market was a hyper-competitive one and the premiums were far too low and insurers lacked the discipline to apply or increase deductibles to assist them to manage smaller claims....
•How Can I Recover Money To Get Defective Building Work Fixed?
Things are already going pretty badly for you. Instead of fulfilling your dreams, your building work has turned out to be a nightmare. So of course, you want to know if there’s some way you can get it fixed. In New South Wales, the Home Building Act sets out a dispute resolution procedure to get the builder to rectify any defective work. If the builder won’t co-operate, then you can make a claim to your home warranty insurer.
Ask first
First of all, the Office recommends that you try...
•Why Insurance Claims Are Not Paid
Normally there are a number of reasons why insurers fail to pay or deny insurance claims. The principal ones are:
1. Non Disclosure of material fact;
2. Failure to abide by the doctrine of the utmost good faith;
3. Fraud and/or overcapitalisation of loss but the latter only applies to deny that part of the claim;
4. Arson as a subset of fraud;
5. An inability of the insured to provide any or adequate strict proof of loss;
6. A breach of policy conditions;
7. A failure by insurers to...
•Does The Duty Of Utmost Good Faith Apply To Claims
Originally the duty of utmost good faith was a common law concept which applied directly to contracts of insurance. The introduction of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (the Act) brought about a fundamental change to this duty - the Act states ‘a contract of insurance is based on the utmost good faith and there is implied in such a contract a provision requiring each party to it to act towards the other party, in respect of any matter arising under or in relation to it, with the utmost good...
•Bullying - Adults In The Schoolyard
The idea of bullying has long been associated with naughty children in a schoolyard. But in recent years, there has been increased awareness and recognition in Australia that adults can be bullies too. Nowhere is this notion more alive than in the workplace, where high stress levels and hierarchies create a framework for day to day life.
While the badly behaved child may be ordered to stay away from school for a day, a bully in the workplace risks paying for her or his mistakes in a...
•Do I Need To Have A Contract With My Builder?
Having building work done is almost certainly going to be a major investment. Not only is it likely to cost you a stack of money, if it isn’t up to scratch, the consequences can be pretty dire. Unlike buying a car or a boat, you can’t test drive it beforehand and check everything’s to your satisfaction. Instead, you’ll just have to wait and see if the building work that eventuates was what you asked for and meets all the standards. You can imagine that there’s a chance for...
•The Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW)
The Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) commenced operation on 15 August 2005. The Act represents a major progression in the regulation of civil litigation in NSW. For the first time in history civil proceedings in the Supreme, District and Local Courts and the Dust Diseases Tribunal will be governed by one set of common rules.
The sections of various Acts that have been moved into the CP Act are largely sections governing common procedural, as opposed to substantive matters. Those sections...
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