The English Court of Appeal recently decided that
an insured which did not provide its insurer with reasonably
required quantum documents had not breached its claims obligations
because the insurer had a duty to tell the insured that the
documents were outstanding. South African insurers should be wary
that their conduct (even by silence or inaction) may, in
appropriate circumstances, similarly prevent them from relying on
apparent breaches of claims obligations by their insureds.
In Ted Baker PLC and Another v AXA Insurance UK PLC and
Others [2017] EWCA Civ 4097, the court considered an appeal by
the insured following the lower court upholding the insurer's
rejection of a claim for business interruption losses arising from
theft by an employee over a prolonged period of time. The lower
court upheld the rejection for a number of reasons, one of which
was that the insured had breached a condition precedent to the
insurer's liability by not providing certain quantum
