Oceania: Insurance

For most reaching the end of a Total & Permeant Disability (TPD) Claim marks the finalisation of a long and stressful journey — finally, a sense of relief and financial certainty after months (or years) of uncertainty.

The Victorian Supreme Court has clarified the burden of proof in broker negligence claims, establishing that insureds must demonstrate a hypothetical insurance policy would have responded to their loss. This landmark decision examines the interplay between causation requirements, section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act, alteration of use clauses, and broker renewal obligations in the context of a major warehouse fire claim.

Picture two people with the same illness, same diagnosis, same inability to work. One claimant receives the full Total Permanent Disability (TPD) benefit they expected and the second receives noticeably less...