The interpretation of insurance policies is one of the most
often litigated aspects of insurance law.
In these articles we analyse two recent decisions on
insurance-related matters, one from our
High Court and one from our
Supreme Court of Appeal, in which the respective courts, in
finding against the respective insurers, warned against the
adoption of a purely literal approach to the interpretation of an
insurance policy. The process is an integrated one that takes into
account not only the wording of the policy, but also the context
and the need to consider a business-like construction.
The decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal revisits the
interpretative process and serves as a useful guide; we
summarise the process in our analysis of the case.
