You, Brian Boahene
& Ince, in any case

05-03-2020 / Insurance

Whilst many remain sceptical about how promptly COVID-19 was first reported, the World Health Organisation says that the reporting at the end of December 2019 allowed many countries to take early steps to prepare for further cases of COVID-19 and to minimise its spread. Notwithstanding the position taken by the World Health Organisation and the initial containment within China, the speed at which COVID-19 has spread, now to over 70 other countries and at a rate faster than the more deadly MERS-CoV virus, has suprised many. The rate of spread has led to significant disruption to commerce and supply chains and this will necessarily impact retail and commercial insurances. We touch on some of the commercial lines of insurance likely to be affected in this note.

14-06-2019 / Commodities & Trade, Insurance

Iran sanctions - Escalating tensions

08-05-2019 / Maritime

On Wednesday 1st May, we delivered our first Shipping Brief of the year in Dubai to experts in the Maritime industry at the Four Seasons Hotel in DIFC.

08-01-2019 / Insurance, Maritime

In a recent judgment, the Dubai Court of Cassation upheld multiple defences raised by insurers against coverage of a cargo claim following partial loss to a cargo of direct reduced iron.

08-01-2019 / Insurance, Maritime

In a recent judgment, the Dubai Court of Cassation upheld multiple defences raised by insurers against coverage of a cargo claim following partial loss to a cargo of direct reduced iron.

19-12-2018 / Insurance

In a recent judgment the UAE local court considered the nature of the indemnity under a Builder’s All Risks policy, namely whether the property under construction was insured on an agreed value basis.

09-10-2018 / Maritime

On Monday 8 October members of our Ince Co Dubai office travelled to Qatar to host our Shipping Briefing at the Shangri-La Hotel Doha The seminar covered various topics relating to marine and insurance industries

16-07-2018 / Maritime

(1) Alize 1996, (2) CMA CGM SA v (1) DP World UAE Region FZE, (2) DP World Limited, (3) All other persons claiming or being entitled to claim damages for the incident, DWT-0001-2017 In a landmark judgment, the DWT (a special tribunal established by Decree (57) of 2009 (“Decree 57”) to deal with insolvency proceedings relating to Dubai World and its subsidiaries), confirmed its jurisdiction over maritime disputes by or against Dubai World entities and acknowledged that a ship owner is entitled to establish a limitation fund under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (the “Convention”) by way of a P&I Club letter of undertaking (“LOU”). The matter was determined in accordance with UAE law.

28-06-2018 / Energy & Infrastructure, Insurance

Contractual clauses requiring parties to obtain joint insurance policies, and the effect those clauses can have on a party's right to bring a claim against their joint assured, have received close scrutiny recently The issue was comprehensively considered by the Supreme Court in its obiter judgment in Gard Marine and Energy Limited v China National Chartering Company Limited and others (Ocean Victory) 2017 UKSC 35, on which we have previously commented More recently, both the English and Scottish courts have dealt with the issue in judgments that are considered here

12-06-2018 / Maritime

Kyokuyo Co Ltd v. A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S (Maersk Tangier) [2018] EWCA Civ 778 The Court of Appeal has upheld the Commercial Court ruling in a significant decision that considered package limitation under the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules. The judgment clarifies, for the first time under English law, that “unit” is an individual piece of cargo as opposed to a container. It further confirms that the Hague-Visby Rules may apply even in circumstances where sea waybills are used instead of bills of lading. The decision is important because of its implications for the limitation of liability for carriers.

04-06-2018 / Maritime

(1) Alize 1996, (2) CMA CGM SA v (1) DP World UAE Region FZE, (2) DP World Limited, (3) All other persons claiming or being entitled to claim damages for the incident, DWT-0001-2017 In a landmark judgment, the DWT (a special tribunal established by Decree (57) of 2009 (“Decree 57”) to deal with insolvency proceedings relating to Dubai World and its subsidiaries), confirmed its jurisdiction over maritime disputes by or against Dubai World entities and acknowledged that a ship owner is entitled to establish a limitation fund under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (the “Convention”) by way of a P&I Club letter of undertaking (“LOU”). The matter was determined in accordance with UAE law.

29-05-2018 / Commodities & Trade

On 8 May 2018 the President of the United States announced his decision to re-impose nuclear-related sanctions against Iran. By way of reminder, the US and the EU sanctions programme against Iran were lifted by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its Implementation Date of 16 January 2016. Following the US President’s announcement, the EU participants confirmed their commitment to the JCPOA and have since indicated that they would rely on the “blocking statute” to minimize the impact of the US sanctions on EU companies.

03-05-2018 / Insurance

Hot on the heels of the English Technology and Construction Court's judgment in Haberdashers' Aske Federation Trust v Lakehouse Contractsnbspis a Scottish First Division judgment,nbspSSE Generation Ltd v Hochtief Solutions AG, which also considers the effect of joint names insurance in a construction contract and the extent to which this is sufficient to displace contractual liability between the parties The Inner House decision makes clear, as a matter of Scottish law, that whilst joint names insurance will normally displace contractual liability between the parties, the scope of the insuring obligation must be considered carefully

11-04-2018 / Insurance

Insurance has a key role in facilitating projects and their funding the comprehensive insurance and reinsurance programmes put in place form a vital part of the lenders' security However, the complexities of the contractual arrangements and the multi-faceted relationships involved can cause problems, as illustrated by the recent Technology and Construction Court decision in Haberdashers' Aske Federation Trust v Lakehouse Contracts

23-03-2018 / Maritime

Sveriges Angfartygs Assurans Forening (The Swedish Club) v. Connect Shipping Inc (MV Renos) [2018] EWCA Civ 230 The Court of Appeal has recently upheld a first instance decision in a case that required the Court to consider the following issues: (i) at what point an insured is held to have received “reliable information” of a constructive total loss (“CTL”); (ii) how soon after having received “reliable information” the insured is required to give Notice of Abandonment to their insurers; and (iii) whether expenses incurred by the insured prior to the Notice of Abandonment (“NOA”) and SCOPIC fees paid to salvors count towards the CTL calculation.

05-06-2017 /

This article compares the general principles that apply to directors' duties and liabilities in the UAE onshore with those applying in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) The comparison will be of interest to businesses that have both DIFC and onshore companies in their group structure as it gives an insight into the differences and the similarities between the two regimes

11-02-2016 / Insurance

The defendant insured in Brit v F&B Trenchless Solutions (F&B) was a specialist tunnelling sub-contractor. It took out employers’ liability, product liability and public liability insurance for its work of building micro-tunnels for cables underground railway tracks. The insurance was provided on the basis that the works would lead to ground settlement of between 2-4mm and that they would at no point take place underneath an active railway.

23-11-2015 / Insurance

In a rare case concerning the avoidance of liability under a combined liability policy (Brit UW Limited & F&B Trenchless Solutions Limited), the insurer Brit was held to have validly avoided the policy on the grounds that it was induced to enter into the contract as a result of F&B’s (the insured’s) material non-disclosure and misrepresentation. The key issues were the materiality of the information not disclosed and the allowable period of time before an insurer is deemed to have affirmed the policy/waived its right to avoid.

11-07-2014 / Energy & Infrastructure

The DIFC has taken steps to align itself with the UAE’s obligations under the New York Convention through the recent amendment of its Arbitration Law.

16-04-2014 / Insurance

With more and more high value risks being written and reinsured with security in the MENA region, earlier this year Lloyd’s of London announced plans to establish an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), subject to regulatory approval. The decision by Lloyd's to explore a more permanent presence in the DIFC is an interesting one given the presence, in one form or another, of an increasing number of Lloyd’s insurers in the DIFC, with others set to follow.

16-04-2014 / Insurance

Following initial proposals for reform in 2012 and a subsequent consultation over those proposals, the UAE Insurance Authority (the Insurance Authority) issued Resolution No 15 of 2013 in October 2013 in its final form, amending and repealing the 2006 Insurance Broking Regulations. These revised regulations (the Regulations) are now law.