The Marine Insurance Act 1745The citation of this Act by this

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster system, Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title an ...

was authorised by the

Short Titles Act 1896 The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Short Titles Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 10). This act was retained for the Republic of I ...

, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the

Interpretation Act 1978 The Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act makes provision for the interpretation of acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Asse ...

. ( 19 Geo. 2. c. 37) was an Act of Parliament of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

. The Act has been described as "the first significant statutory intervention in substantive marine insurance law".

Background

The purpose of the Act was to put an end to the practice of wagering disguised as insurance upon marine vessels. Persons who had no commercial interest in a marine cargo would take out a policy of insurance in the marine form, essentially gambling upon whether or not the ship would safely arrive at its destination. Concern was expressed that, apart from general policies against gambling, this also created a positive incentive for certain parties to overload ships and ensure that they were dispatched in risky condition. Accordingly, the Act introduced into

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

for the first time the requirement of an "

insurable interest In insurance practice, an insurable interest exists when an insured person derives a financial or other kind of benefit from the continuous existence, without repairment or damage, of the insured object (or in the case of a person, their continued ...

" in the subject matter of a policy of insurance. This requirement was later replicated for life insurance in the

Life Assurance Act 1774 The Life Assurance Act 1774The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretati ...

. Neither statute sought to define an insurable interest, and it was not until the decision of the courts in ''Lucena v Craufurd'' in 1806 that an insurable interest was first defined as "A right in the property, or a right derivable out of some contract about the property, which in either case may be lost upon some contingency affecting the possession or enjoyment of the party."

Text

The Act is relatively short. The text of its first section (including the preamble) is set out below:

Repeal

The Act remained substantively in force until it was incorporated into the

Marine Insurance Act 1906 The Marine Insurance Act 1906 (8 Edw. 7. c. 41) is a UK act of Parliament regulating marine insurance. The act applies both to "ship & cargo" marine insurance, and to protection and indemnity insurance, P&I cover. The act was drafted by Sir Macke ...

References

External links

{{UK legislation Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1745 Insurance legislation History of insurance