Outline of the report
The terms of reference for this inquiry required the Commission to review the Marine Insurance Act 1909 (Cth) (MIA), taking into account, among other things, the desirability of having a regime consistent with international practice in the marine insurance industry, and whether any change might result in a competitive disadvantage for the Australian insurance industry.
The report Review of the Marine Insurance Act 1909 (Cth) (ALRC 91) sets out the results of the Commission's research and consultations, and its recommendations for amendments to the MIA and to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) (ICA).
Four areas came to be of central importance during the course of the review. They are the coverage of the MIA; warranties and other statutory provisions with similar effect; non-disclosure, misrepresentation and the obligations of utmost good faith; and the requirement for an insurable interest. A number of other areas also merited specific attention, notably the documentary requirements set out in the MIA. As required by the terms of reference, the Commission prepared a draft Bill to give effect to the recommendations in this report and an explanatory memorandum to accompany it.
If adopted, the Commission's recommendations would involve significant amendment to the MIA. However, the Commission anticipates that the impact in practice on Australia's marine insurance industry would be less than that which the scale of the changes to the wording of the MIA might suggest. The amendments would be made within the existing structure and layout of the MIA, which are familiar to the industry both within Australia and, because of the MIA's similarity to cognate legislation overseas, in foreign jurisdictions.
ALRC 91 contains an overview of the recommendations as well as an executive summary to the report.