LML4805 - Insurance Cases /SUMMARY

Insurance law Summary of Study guide UNIT 1 Diagrammatic Overview Study the diagrammatic overview for Learning Unit 1 that is attached to the study guide in Addendum A. Prescribed Study Material Study the diagrammatic overview in conjunction with the following prescribed study material for this Learning Unit:  Learning Unit 1 in the study guide  Reinecke et al, paras 1.1–1.59 Learning Activities  Visit the Schedule for the module-related study plan as well as important dates and events.  Complete the self-assessment questions on Learning Unit 1 in the study guide.  Participate in the Discussion Forum on Learning Unit 1 to discuss self-assessment questions and other questions arising from this Learning Unit with your fellow students. 1 LML4805/1 Concepts of insurance, insurance contract and insurance law; insurance in an economic and legal sense; some classifications of insurance contracts 1.1 INTRODUCTION: INCIDENCE, MANAGEMENT AND SPREADING OF RISK Underlying the whole idea of insurance as we know it today is the notion of the spreading of risk. One of the characteristics of human existence is that people, their assets and their expectations are continuously under threat. The calamities to which man is exposed create a need for security and protection. This need may be satisfied in a number of ways. One of them is to distribute the risk of the occurrence of undesirable events among a number of persons. This is known as the spreading of risk. Insurance is pre-eminently an instrument for the spreading of risk among a number of people who are all exposed to the same or comparable dangers or risks. For further information on the incidence, management and spreading of risk, STUDY paragraphs 1.7 to 1.16 in Reinecke et al. 1.2 INSURANCE IN AN ECONOMIC AND LEGAL SENSE; INSURANCE CONTRACT AND INSURANCE LAW A distinction may be drawn between insurance in an economic sense and insurance in a legal sense (STUDY paragraphs 1.17–1.21 in Reinecke et al). This leads us to a definition, which is preliminary at this stage and should reconsider after you have studied some further (alleged) essential features of the insurance contract in later learning units (STUDY paragraphs 1.22 and 1.23 in Reinecke et al). A related notion is that of insurance law, its place in the general system of our law and its main features (STUDY paragraphs 1.24–1.28 in Reinecke et al). 1.3 CLASSIFICATION OF INSURANCE CONTRACTS Insurance contracts may be classified in various ways. The distinctions emerging from these classifications, especially the difference between indemnity and non-indemnity insurance, are of importance for any study of insurance law since some legal principles are said to apply to some types of insurance contract but not to others. Note that these classifications are not mutually exclusive and that a particular type of insurance (contract) may belong to several different classes at the same time. For example, a particular marine-insurance contract may simultaneously be an indemnity insurance, a property insurance, a short-term insurance and a valued insurance contract. On the need for the different classifications and the way (or some of the ways) in which insurance and insurance contracts may be classified, STUDY paragraphs 1.29 to 1.59 in Reinecke et al. Questions (1) Distinguish between the following: (a) indemnity insurance and non-indemnity insurance (b) property insurance and liability insurance (c) mutual insurance and premium (or for-profit) insurance (d) fire insurance and marine insurance (e) property insurance and personal-accident insurance (f) life insurance and death insurance (g) life insurance and personal-accident insurance