THIRD PARTY INSURANCE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19423, 7 September 1937, Page 5

THIRD PARTY INSURANCE

HIGHER PREMIUM LIKELY MOOTED N,Z. LEGISLATION OPINIONS IN CITY (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. A prediction that if legislation is brought into operation to do away with the need for proving negligence as a basis for damages for injuries caused by motor cars there would inevitably be a substantial rise in the • premiums under the compulsory third party insurance taken out at the time of the issue of motor vehicle licenses, was made by men in the insurance business. ' Such men disclaimed any knowledge of any negotiations with the Government 1 over the pending legislation, Concerning the exact nature of which they were,in ignorance- They were unanimous that the third party insurance business was proving unprofitable to the companies concerned and with.a. widening of the scope as / proposed would considerably increase the claims-made. *:': /fllore Actions Predicted /||;,&'measure, as, proposed, is adrjjjted,' it' will mean that there wiU be no further disputes in the courts as to facts." said a solicitor who does a great deal of compensation business. "Undoubtedly there will be more actions brought and the chief concern will be the assessment of damages. In any case, however, recent decisions of the House of Lords affecting common law permitting of damages, not merely for financial loss but also on the basis of a reduced expectation of life have very largely increased the possibility of heavy damages. . So the effects of the proposed legislation may be very far-reaching." Tendency of Juries It was pointed out by this solicitor that while the proposed legislation was to widen the scope of compensation, curiously enough there was now a tendency among common juries to look more critically than they used to do on the plaintiff's side of the case. At one time common juries were disposed to give damages without considering very much the facts disputed by the defendants, but there was an increasing number of men in common juries who now owned or used cars and they realised the slur that might be cast on an innocent driver by a judgment against him, even though he might not personally be called upon to bear the cost of the award of damages. An insurance man pointed out that everything was too vague for practical discussion and the Minister's intentions might be amended, but if the legislation were persisted in as proposed no doubt many companies might refuse to enter into the business of third party risks.