Insurance
3 August 2026
A Disclaimer Is Only as Good as Its Signature: The SCA on Exemption Clauses, Agency and the CPA in Tourvest Holdings v Murti
A signature obtained from the wrong person creates no contract. The Supreme Court of Appeal considers exemption clauses, authority between partners, and the notice standards the Consumer Protection Act demands of operators running activities that carry real risk.
21 January 2026
A cession is only as good as the notice behind it
When a bank finances an asset, it usually takes security over more than the asset itself. It often takes cession of the borrower's rights under the insurance policy covering that asset, so that if the thing is destroyed, the insurance money flows to the bank rather than to a borrower who may already be in trouble. It is a sensible, everyday arrangement. But a 2003 decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal, *Stannic v Samib Underwriting Managers*, is a reminder that a cession taken quietly is a cession that can quietly fail.
18 November 2025
Rectification refused: the SCA draws a hard line in AIG v Azrapart
In AIG South Africa v Azrapart the Supreme Court of Appeal refused to rectify a policy to strip out COVID-19 infectious-disease cover, holding that an insurer who signs a Placing Slip and policy that include the cover cannot later plead a "mistake" it never flagged.
1 January 2024
Credibility Wins Cases: Lessons from Rippel v ABSA Brokers
As a young attorney, I had the privilege of acting as attorney of record for ABSA Brokers in Rippel v ABSA Brokers (Pty) Ltd (3198/2009) [2009] ZAKZDHC 49 (30 October 2009). The case serves as an