Insurance

A COVID-19 business interruption test case that was filed in the Federal Court following a landmark loss for insurers in test case before the NSW Court of Appeal, will be determined along with any appeals by the end of the year, a judge has said.

A surgeon facing class action claims from breast implant patients of the defunct The Cosmetic Institute has won his legal battle against an insurer that denied coverage for his defence costs.

Two shareholder class actions against sandalwood producer Quintis that reached an in principle settlement over a year ago are moving forward following a protracted dispute over insurance, with the lead applicants getting approval to file proposed amended pleadings.

Insurers Lloyds Australia and QBE have been hit with class actions by policyholders who were denied business interruption coverage for COVID-19-related shutdowns.

The High Court has rejected a bid by a group of insurers to weigh in on a test case against COVID-19 related claims in business interruption policies, following a high stakes loss in the NSW Court of Appeal, which found an infectious disease exclusion did not apply.

The lead applicants in a class action against two CBA units over allegedly excessive insurance premiums have been ordered to amend their pleadings to expand the group definition and add more detail to their claims.

AMP and a number of its financial planning subsidiaries have launched a bid to declass a group proceeding jointly run by Piper Alderman and Shine Lawyers over allegedly excessive insurance premiums.

Westpac has shot back at a lawsuit brought by ASIC over the selling of alleged poor value insurance products, with the bank saying its customers had agreed to take out the "optional" coverage.

A class action has been filed on behalf of major retailers seeking compensation over a May 2020 incident on the MV APL England vessel which saw valuable goods en route to Australia damaged or lost overboard during rough weather.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has dropped a consumer case accusing NIB Health Funds of failing to alert customers to coverage changes in their policies, less than a month before trial was set to kick off in the long-running case.