A study of insurance contracts within the Maltese legal context

Abstract

The insurance in Malta has been very largely influenced by English practice and law. The influence of English market insurance practice and law not only shaped the Maltese market but practically that of all common law jurisdictions in former members of the British empire including the USA, Canada, India, South Africa and Australia. Since the London insurance market continues to be a very dominant force globally till today, the connection has undoubtedly served Malta well.

The origins of UK insurance contract law date back to times which were very different to the times which we live in today and the need to revise the laws to bring them in line with the times we now live in has for some time now been felt in the UK as well as in all the jurisdictions which were influenced by its law and practice. In Malta, we have had minimal legislative intervention and our courts were and continue to be mostly guided by English case law, some of which has now been superseded by the updated statute law which was recently introduced in the UK.

This study seeks to deliver a case study of the development of insurance contracts within the Maltese legal context based on empirical literature findings and semi-structured interviews with a number of lawyers who are specialised in the field and experienced insurance professionals.