After receiving Royal Assent on 25th March 2010 the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 (“the Act”) finally comes into force later this year.
When implemented the Act will make a number of changes to the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 and will, no doubt, be of interest to those involved in construction litigation.
Presently, if a third party wishes to bring a claim against an insolvent insured the third party has to first establish the liability of the insured and, in the case of a corporate insured that has been struck off the register, the third party will have to apply to have the company restored.
Once the Act comes into force the need to restore a company to the register will no longer be required and a third party will be able to issue proceedings directly against the insurers.
The Act also contains a mechanism to make it easier for third parties to access information about the insurance policy. This will allow the third party at a very early stage to be able to make an informed decision about how it should proceed.
