Commonwealth Numbered Acts Commonwealth Numbered Acts
1A Paragraph 11(10)(a)
After "37", insert ", 37C".
1B Paragraph 11(10)(c)
After "37", insert ", 37C".
1 After Division 1 of Part V
Insert:
Division 1A -- Definition of flood
37A Application of this Division
(1) This Division applies in relation to a contract of insurance (in this Division called a prescribed contract ) if:
(a) the contract is included in a class of contracts of insurance declared by the regulations to be a class of contracts in relation to which this Division applies; and
(b) the contract was entered into after the day on which those regulations were made.
(2) However, this Division does not apply in relation to a prescribed contract at any time before the transition time for the prescribed contract.
(3) Also, this Division does not affect the operation of a prescribed contract in relation to an event that occurred before the transition time for the prescribed contract.
(4) In this section:
"transition time" , for a prescribed contract, means the time when regulations made for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), declaring a class of contracts of insurance including the contract to be a class of contracts in relation to which this Division applies, commence.
37B Meaning of flood in prescribed contracts etc.
(1) The regulations must define the meaning of flood for the purposes of this Division.
(2) In a prescribed contract (or a notice or other document or information given by the insurer in relation to a prescribed contract):
(a) the word flood has the meaning given by the regulations; and
(b) other parts of speech or grammatical forms of that word have corresponding meanings.
(3) Subsection (2) has effect in relation to a prescribed contract (or a notice or other document or information given by the insurer in relation to a prescribed contract) even if the meaning of the word flood (or other parts of speech or grammatical forms of that word) provided by the contract (or the notice or other document or information) is different from the meaning of flood given by the regulations.
Before entering into a prescribed contract, the insurer must clearly inform the insured in writing whether the contract provides insurance cover in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, flood as defined by the regulations.
(1) This section applies in relation to a prescribed contract that includes provisions ( flood provisions ) that provide insurance cover in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, one or more flood events (whether or not the contract expressly provides insurance cover for flood as defined by the regulations).
(2) The flood provisions of the prescribed contract are taken to provide insurance cover in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, flood as defined by the regulations.
(3) The insurer under the prescribed contract may not refuse to pay a claim in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, the happening of a flood event by reason only that, but for subsection (2), insurance cover in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, that event was not provided by the contract.
(4) If the prescribed contract includes provisions (also flood provisions ) that provide different maximum amounts of insurance cover in respect of different flood events, those provisions are taken to provide a maximum amount of insurance cover in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, flood, as defined by the regulations, equal to the highest maximum amount (the maximum flood cover amount ) of insurance cover provided by those provisions in respect of any flood event.
(5) The insurer under the prescribed contract may not refuse to pay an amount equal to the maximum flood cover amount in relation to a claim in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, the happening of a flood event by reason only that, but for subsection (4), the maximum amount of insurance cover provided by the contract in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, that event was less than the maximum flood cover amount.
(5A) To avoid doubt, this section does not affect the operation of any provisions of a prescribed contract that are not flood provisions.
(6) This section has effect in relation to a prescribed contract whether or not the insurer clearly informed the insured of the purported effect of the flood provisions in the contract.
(7) In this section:
"flood event" means an event that is, or would be, a flood as defined by the regulations.
37E Division not to affect provision of insurance cover for certain events
If:
(a) a prescribed contract is expressed to provide insurance cover in respect of loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, a particular event; and
(b) the effect of another provision of this Division is that the contract would not provide that insurance cover;
then that provision is taken not to have that effect.
2 Subsection 38(3)
After "37", insert ", 37C".