Insurance Law

Contact: Carter Newell (Queensland, Australia)

Section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984(Cth) (ICA) has been one of the most contentious and litigated provisions of the ICA, for the broad relief it offers insureds whose acts or omissions otherwise entitle an insurer to refuse to pay a valid claim.

A recent example is the decision of the Western Australian Court of Appeal in Mathew Maxwell v Highway Hauliers Pty Ltd[2013] WASCA 115, which supports a broad interpretation of s 54 and is significant for its departure from the reasoning of the Queensland Court of Appeal in Johnson v Triple C Furniture & Electrical Pty Ltd[2010] QCA 282 (Triple C).

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