Africa: Insurance

Partner Jean-Paul Rudd of Adams & Adams has analysed ten pivotal US insurance judgments that clarify how courts interpret policy language, apply exclusions, and establish indemnity boundaries. These cases reveal critical principles governing consent-to-settle provisions, contextual reading of exclusions, and coverage triggers that shape modern insurance disputes.

As South African businesses prepare for festive season celebrations, a critical question emerges: are employers adequately protected against the legal and financial risks that accompany year-end office parties? From alcohol-related incidents to workplace misconduct claims, the gap between celebration and catastrophe may be wider than most companies realize.

A recent South African court judgment has raised fundamental questions about when lead generation and referral arrangements in financial services cross the line into regulated intermediary activity. The case examined whether performance-based remuneration structures and marketing activities linked to insurance policy conclusions trigger licensing requirements under FAIS, with significant implications for enforceability.

When reinsurers withdrew charterers' liability cover for Persian Gulf operations in March 2026 on seventy-two hours' notice, the episode revealed a structural vulnerability in global marine insurance that extends far beyond the immediate crisis. For Nigeria, which lacks domestic marine insurance capacity at every layer of this architecture, the Gulf repricing demonstrates both the cost of dependency on foreign risk capital and an emerging opportunity to build institutional capability...

On 29 July 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 (‘NIIRA' or ‘New Act'), a legislation aimed at transforming the Nigerian insurance sector.

On August 6, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a landmark effort to transform the Nigerian Insurance Sector signed the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA), 2025.