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News from the National Chapters
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Second joint annual conference of the New Zealand Insurance Association and the Australian Insurance Law Association, Christchurch, 19-21 September 2007
"The Ties That Bind"
The ties that bind the New Zealand and Australian nations will be strengthened in September when Australian Insurance Law Association members cross "the ditch" to take part in the second joint AILA-New Zealand Insurance Law Association annual conference.
"The ditch" is the New Zealanders' colloquial expression for the Tasman Sea that separates the two countries. The conference theme, "The Ties that Bind", is reflected in the conference logo (see above.) To the left is a brown circle, the Aboriginal symbol for meeting place. The brown flag represents the "wide brown land" of Australia. The blue lines symbolise water and represent a connection between the two countries. Tucked behind Australia, but slightly higher, is the black flag of New Zealand and the silver fern.
The host city, Christchurch, bounded by the Southern Alps and the Port Hills, is built on the banks of the Avon and Heathcote rivers. It is a city of old stone buildings and verdant gardens. The conference is on September 19-21, ensuring skiers can take advantage of the South Island of New Zealand's skifields.
The conference program is still in development, however the aim is to have three keynote sessions covering topics of universal interest to insurance industry participants from both countries. One session will examine barristers' immunity, contrasting the New Zealand and Australian perspectives. The impact of climate change on the insurance industry will be discussed as will insurance legislation in both countries. Impending amendments to Australia's Insurance Contracts Act will be examined and New Zealand's progress in developing legislation. There will be practical workshops, covering issues like forensics and expert evidence, with concurrent streams occurring on Friday morning.
The opening welcome event and the conference will be at Christchurch Convention Centre. The welcome function will be a tribute to New Zealand's fine wines and traditional foods. The conference dinner, on Thursday, September 20, will be at the Wigram Airforce Museum. Dinner guests will dine under the wings of classic military aircraft.
The announcement at last November's AILA conference in Sydney of Christchurch as host city for the joint 2007 conference was marked by a traditional Maori powhiri or welcome. For a powhiri to take place, there must be two groups of people, the tangata whenua or hosts and the manuhiri or visitors. AILA president Steve Knight received a wero or challenge, conducted to ascertain the intention of the visitors. If the wero is placed down and picked up with the head facing towards the visitor, it means they come in peace. If the wero is not picked up at all, the tangata whenua assume the manuhiri have not come in peace and pitched battle ensues. Once Steve Knight picked up the wero, indicating the visitors' peaceful intentions, Maori dancers performed the traditional haka powhiri or welcome dance.
AIDA members from around the globe are welcome to attend the joint conference. Go to the website, www.aila.com.au, to register expressions of interest.
Kate Tilley, Editor, AILA-NZILA News
BRAZIL
- AIDA Brazilian Section: General Report of the Year 2006
AIDA Brazil has published its General Report of the Year, 2006. It includes information on the official opening of AIDA Brazil's headquarters; new members of AIDA Brazil; the creation of national work groups; and recent events and congresses held by the Brazilian section.
The full General Report about Brazilian AIDA Section activities in 2006 is available on the AIDA Website
- Information on the next Brazilian Congress
The Brazilian Chapter will be holding a Congress on 23-24 March 2007. Some of the topics that will discussed at this conference include: acts of terrorism and their impact on the insurance industry, as well as the recent amendments of the Civil Procedure Code and their effect on insurance and regulatory law.
The Congress brochure (in Spanish) is available here
HUNGARY
AIDA Budapest Insurance Colloquium
The Hungarian National Chapter of AIDA organised its ninth international conference, the IX AIDA Budapest Insurance Colloquium, on the 23-24th November 2006. The main topic was: “New Developments in Legislation on the Insurance Contract”; a relevant issue because a new Hungarian Civil Code for insurance contracts is currently in the process of being prepared. 120 participants attended the two-day conference.
The first day of the Colloquium began with a round-table discussion which focused on the effects of this new Hungarian legislation on insurance contracts. In the afternoon, Professor Gerrit Winter, Chairman of the State Supervision of Insurance Working Party, spoke on the subject of “Supervisory experiences about the outsourcing of the insurance activity.”
On the second day of the Colloquium, 12 international speakers (including seven Hungarian speakers) gave presentations focused around the main topic of “New Developments in Legislation on Insurance Contract”.
The website for the Hungarian National Chapter of AIDA has recently been redesigned: www.aidahungary.hu. Contributions on the main theme of the Colloquium can also be accessed from this website.
The X AIDA Budapest Insurance Colloquium, will be held on the 27-28th November, 2008.
Károly Bárd
ICELAND
Iceland has now been officially admitted as a member of AIDA. If you would like more information on the Iceland Chapter, click here
INDONESIA
Tribute to Amiril SH, Jakarta Indonesia
Mr. Amiril of Jakarta Indonesia passed away at the age of 70 on the 26 October in Jakarta.
As a member of the Perhimpunan Ahli Hukum Asuransi Indonesia (PAHAI), his tireless efforts to promote the activities of the Indonesian Association and its admission as a chapter of the International Insurance Law Association (AIDA) were well recognised by members of the AILA Board at the time the Australian Association was organising the World Congress of AIDA in Sydney, in 1994.
Subsequently, Amiril, along with Michael Gill and others, both in Australia and in Jakarta, worked hard on a successful joint meeting of AILA and PAHAI in Indonesia in 1995, followed by a further AIDA regional meeting in Singapore which attracted talented speakers from around the world but suffered from the initial impact of the impending financial crisis in that part of the world. The decision to conduct the next regional meeting in Hong Kong had to be abandoned as the crisis deepened.
It has taken a long time, but it is encouraging to know that relationships in the region are being re-established, even if Amiril's health problems and the aftermath of the financial crisis did not enable him to participate.
He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters in law, one daughter and one son in law and seven grandchildren.
John Hastings
ISRAEL
AIDA Israel Seminar on Class Actions in the Insurance Industry
Melvin Weiss, Peter Naschitz and G Hamburger at the AIDA Israel seminar on class actions
AIDA Israel, which has traditionally been active in organizing seminars on insurance law and related subjects, held a meeting on 26 December 2006, dedicated to the new Israeli law on class actions. The meeting was attended by 200 insurance executives, professionals, attorneys, and accountants. The opening address was delivered by Melvin I. Weiss of New York, who is considered to be a leading figure in class actions bar in the U.S.A., and who was responsible for many landmark decisions in favor of plaintiffs. The speaker compared the new law with the situation in the US, and complimented Israeli law for its clarity and forward looking approach.
The other speakers included the Deputy Superintendent of Insurance, who reviewed the regulators’ role in enforcing the new law. He described the strategic work plan in which the superintendent planned to encourage claimants of class actions against insurance companies. Such a statement aroused vehement protestations from the audience, who all thought that such conduct would mark the regulator as a hostile element to the insurance industry.
Another lively subject brought up by Ezra Gabbai, C.P.A. of Ernst and Young, Israel, revolved around the new regulations for evaluating insurance claim reserves. The specific subject discussed was how to recommend honest claim reserves, without the companies that include them in their balance sheets, being deemed to assume liability in the amount of the reserve.
The meeting took place in the Tel Aviv Carlton Hotel, and was chaired by Adv. Peter Gad Naschitz, President of AIDA Israel, who was recently elected as AIDA International Vice President.
Peter Naschitz
SERBIA
Activites of the Serbian National Chapter
The Serbian National Chapter has been focusing its activities in the last couple of years on making proposals to the ministries for specific measures and initiatives in order to harmonize Serbian insurance legislation and EU insurance law. In light of this, the Association for Insurance Law of Serbia, co-operating with the Insurance Association of Serbia, held a round table discussion on 7 February 2007 on the 'Provisions of the Draft Law on Compulsory Insurance for Traffic Accidents'. This meeting focused on reviewing new proposals for road traffic accident liability. Departing from the general rules of tort liability, special rules for third party rights for shock and injury and the criteria for fixing recovery levels for personal injury and property damage were considered. Accordingly, participants made numerous amendments to the new traffic accident framework based on the Fifth EU Directive. The issues addressed were as follows:
Sum Insured
- What sum is taken into account when fixing an insurer's liability (agreed sum or sum on the date of occurrence?
- What sum insured is adequate cover for the insured person’s liability?
- Should sum insured be provided for separately for both personal injuries and property damage?
- What categories of motor vehicles should be sum insured fixed for?
Recourse
- Should the funds be allowed to have right of recourse against insurance company?
- If yes, to which claims does the recourse apply (i.e. only to losses caused deliberately or by gross negligence)
- What impact will the international conventions of mandatory effect on the national law, have on our country?
Uniform Policy on the Territory of Serbia
- What are the reasons for and against uniform policy?
- Should the National Bank of Serbia be authorized to provide for the policy content?
- Consistency with the Law on Contracts and Torts?
Motor Vehicle Definition
- Should the concept of the relationship between the motor vehicle and its registration be abandoned
- What importance does the concept of motor vehicle usage have on compulsory insurance?
Third Parties Consent
- Is the motor vehicle owner always excluded from cover, even if he is not responsible for damage?
- Should the organizers of motor racing and similar competitions be excluded from cover, having in mind there is no compulsory insurance in such cases?
Indemnity Procedure
- Is the indemnity procedure set out in the draft complex (documentation, deadlines, reporting etc.) or does it make sense from the protection of damaged person point of view
Fixing and Providing for Insurance Premium
- To what extent should the law intervene (providing for acquisition cost per cent in the gross premium; maximal commission percentage for representation and intermediary; adjustment claim percentage?
Guarantee Fund
- Should it have legal personality?
- What way should the fund be filled up (from one or various sources)
- Fund liabilities in case of insurer insolvency.
Claims Caused by Foreign Vehicle
- Who should discharge role of the Claims handling Bureau in the green card system (Association or Bureau as a separate legal entity).
- Reciprocity issue (reciprocity types, verification).
Fourth and Fifth EU Directive from Serbian Compulsory Insurance Point of View
- Should certain solutions from these Directives not currently in the Draft be included in the Draft?
Next Serbian Chapter Seminar
The annual Seminar for lawyers and insurance experts shall take place on Paliæ lake (near border with Hungary) from 12 to 14 April 2007. The general theme of the Seminar is 'Harmonization of Serbian Insurance with the EU Insurance Law'. The speakers will be from Serbia as well as from Austria, Greece, Slovenia and Hungary.
UK
BILA has planned a full programme of activities and events throughout 2007, in addition to their regular series of lunchtime talks.
The launch of the Law Commissions’ Third Consultative Law Reform Issue Paper took place on 20 February 2007 at The Old Library, Lloyd’s. Participants included: the Insurance Ombudsman, Professor Robert Merkin, Professor Malcolm Clark of Cambridge University, Nick Starling of the ABI, Raenu Barod of Barger & Wolen, New York, Walter Merricks, Chief Financial Ombudsman, and Professor Helmut Heiss of Mannheim University.
The 2007 BILA Colloquium will take place on 25 May 2007 at the Insurance Hall of the CII. The theme is “ Is Insurance Law Adapting to the 21st Century?” Sessions feature the challenges of genetic information, electronic trading, climate change and financial regulation and a presentation by the Reinstatement of European Insurance Contract Law Project Group, led by Professor Helmut Heiss of Mannheim University. The Colloquium Dinner will take place on 24 May 2007 at The Middle Temple Hall.
Further details of all these events, lecture scripts and other materials may also be obtained from the BILA website (www.bila.org.uk)..
U.S.A
The US Chapter is currently being re-organised under the leadership of Vincent Vitkowsky and Steve Acunto, Vice President and Managing Director, together with a new Board.
AIDA US will hold a seminar in early June in New York. Details will be posted on the AIDA website as soon as plans are confirmed.
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