Chanakya National Law University, Patna
LL.M. 2022-23; SEMESTER-II
Course Title: Law of Insurance
Course Overview
Insurance law is a subject of key import to individuals & the business sector. The aspiration of
insurance is to compensate the aggrieved party, as far as money can, against loss arising from a variety
of risks. Thus, when a person enters into an insurance contract he purchases for an agreed Premium,
financial coverage from loss sustained due to the peril insured against. Insurance is omnipresent in the
practice of law. In litigation, insurance often determines who gets sued and what they get sued for. In
transactional law, insurance frequently constrains or induces deals. The importance of insurance for
lawyers stems from the fact that insurance is the primary means by which companies and individuals
deal with risks. Lawyers, of course, often make a living either by counselling clients about how to plan
for risks or by serving clients whose risks have developed into losses. Just as good attorneys must
understand insurance, good insurance arrangements must rely on attorneys. Lawyers are of
fundamental importance to insurance, which is itself defined by a complex web of contract and tort
law, statutory law and state regulatory law. This course will introduce students to fundamental
principles of insurance law and regulation. The operational framework of insurance is provided by the
general principles of contract. The insurance policy, being a contract, is subject to all the judicial
interpretative technique of rules of interpretation as propounded by the judiciary, besides, the insurance
idea has a compensatory justice component.
Learning Outcomes
The course aims to acquaint the LL.M. students with the conceptual and operational parameters
of insurance law.
On completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Understand the basics of the insurance laws.
2. Analyse the crucial provisions of various enactments concerning insurance laws.
3. Critically analyse the landmark cases of the insurance laws.
List of Topics/ Modules
Topic/ Module Contents/ Concepts Sessions / Lectures
Module I: • Definition of Insurance 1-10
Law
• Nature and Characteristics
of Insurance
• Role of Insurance in
Globalized Economy
• Growth and Development
of Insurance in India
Module II: • Essential Elements of 10-30
Insurance Contracts
• Formation of Insurance
Contracts
• Principle of Insurable
Interest
• Principle of Utmost Good
Faith
• Warranties and Disclosures
• Double Insurance and Re-
insurance
Module III: • Nature and Scope of Life 30-40
Insurance
• Essential Features of Life
Insurance
• Function of Life Insurance
• Kinds of Life Insurance
Module IV: • Nature and Scope of Marine 40-50
Insurance
• Basis of Marine Insurance
• Marine Insurance Act, 1963
• Essential Elements of
Marine Insurance
Module V: • Nature and Scope of Fire 50-60
Insurance
• Meaning of ‘Fire’
• Insurance Claim
Module VI: • Nationalization of 60-65
Insurance Business
• Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority
Act, 1999
• Powers and Functions of
Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority
Act, 1999
Recommended/Reference Text Books and Resources:
Text Books
1. Murthy & K V S Sarma, Modern Law of Insurance, (Butterworth’s Wadhwa Publications,
Nagpur).
2. SV Joga Rao, MN Srinivasan’s Principles of Insurance Law, (Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa,
Nagpur).
3. M. N. Sreenivasan, Law and the Life Insurance Contract, (Butterworth’s Wadhwa Nagpur).
Web Resources
http://www.irdai.gov.in
http://www.licindia.in
Instructor Details
Name of the Instructor: Mr. Abhishek Kumar
Email: abhishek@cnlu.ac.in
