The Death of the Orient Express: a new train of thought on proximate cause?

Jeff Heasman is a qualified English language trainer and is educated to masters level in insurance law. He has many years of experience working in the legal and insurance industries. He is a former senior liability adjuster with Crawford and Company and former litigation executive, having dealt with the case of England v IBC Vehicles Limited up to the Court of Appeal in London.

Jeff has taught the language of law and insurance, as well as insurance law, to many of the world’s leading insurance companies and brokers and has been Dean of the Faculty of Law and a lecturer in the law of torts at Cavendish University in Zambia. Jeff is recognised as a leading trainer in insurance law and practice with a specific interest in soft skills and language

ABOUT THE SESSION

On 15 January 2021, the Supreme Court held in the FCA Test Case that the Orient- Express Hotels case had been wrongly decided. Proximate cause has long been an issue that the courts have grappled with and as a result this has caused confusion and uncertainty throughout the insurance industry.

In this webinar, Jeff Heasman will use his vast experience as a lecturer in tort law and insurance law to strip proximate cause back to the basic principles, trace its development up until the Supreme Court decision on 15 January 2021 and then provide views on what impact the decision will have on underwriting considerations going forward.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

Understand the principles of proximate cause and the “but for” test.

Recognise why the Supreme Court thought it right to overrule the decision in Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.

Implement a strategy around how the judgment of the Supreme Court will impact underwriting considerations going forward.