The Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 (the 2010 Act) will finally come into force from 1 August 2016.
The Act improves the rights of claimants who have a claim against an insolvent company or individual to directly claim against the insolvent party’s insurer.
In particular, the 2010 Act brings about the following important changes:
1) Claimants suing insolvent defendants will be able to pursue a claim against an insurer without first having established the defendant’s liability. This means claimants will be able to establish if there is insurance cover before proceeding with the underlying claim.
2) A claimant’s rights to information regarding an insolvent defendant’s insurance have been clarified and strengthened. This improves a claimant’s access to information that will be relevant to their decision as to whether to bring a claim against the defendant and its insurer.
2016 is set to be a year of significant change in insurance law. We recently wrote about the impact of the Insurance Act 2015 (due to come into effect on 12 August 2016) and the Enterprise Act 2016 (due to come into effect 4 May 2017).
For more information on what this means for you and your business, please contact Matthew Walker in our Insurance team.