Insurance Law and Insurance Regulation

In the early hours of 8 December 2019, on a rural property at St Mary near Tiaro in Queensland, Benjamin Freear (the deceased) moved between properties armed with a .303 rifle, firing at neighbours, vehicles and buildings, and telling others he expected to die.

In certain circumstances, however, the context of a treating doctor’s report could constitute a request for approval even without a clearly worded covering letter.

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has ruled that insurers can deny indemnity and reduce liability to nil when an insured fails to disclose material changes in risk. This case examines how a pharmaceutical manufacturer's undisclosed pivot to hand sanitiser production during COVID-19, involving a fifteenfold increase in ethanol storage, led to a complete denial of coverage following a devastating fire.