Insurance contracts

Contracts of insurance under English law are governed by a combination of statutory regulation and principles developed by case law. Whether or not a contract is a contract of insurance is therefore a threshold question to determining what regulatory, statutory or common law principles apply.

For guidance as to the nature of insurance contracts, see Practice Notes: Identifying contracts of insurance in English law—an introduction, What is a contract of insurance? and Commentary: Pre-Contract Matters: McGee: The Modern Law of Insurance [5.1]. For a practical guide to determining whether an arrangement constitutes a contract of insurance, see Practice Note: Identifying a contract of insurance—flowchart.

Historically, insurance contracts were governed by the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (MIA 1906), which was largely a codification of principles derived from case law and established market practices.