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Home / - The Legal principles of Life Assurance
Life assurance is subject to the general principles of English law but also has some of its own special laws. A life policy is a contract between the insurer and the life assured, and the formation of that contract is subject to the normal requirements of the law of contract for it to be valid. There are five requirements, all of which must be complied with, for a life assurance contract to be legally binding. They are:
- Offer and acceptance
- Consideration
- Capacity to contract
- Legality of object
- Consensus Ad Idem.
Click below to learn more about the legal principles under the headings.
Offer and Acceptance
Consideration
Capacity to Contract
Legality of Object
Consensus of Ad Idem
Duty of Disclosure
Proof of Death
Suicide Clause
Unlawful Acts
Simultaneous Deaths on Joint Life Insurance Plans
Consideration
Capacity to Contract
Legality of Object
Consensus of Ad Idem
Duty of Disclosure
Proof of Death
Suicide Clause
Unlawful Acts
Simultaneous Deaths on Joint Life Insurance Plans
Dying Without a Will in England
Dying Without a Will in Scotland
Dying Without a Will in Northern Ireland
Your Will Can Be Changed After You Die
Trusts
Access to Medical Reports Act 1988
Inheritance Tax (IHT)
Will Jargon is Explained
NEWS
Flu vaccine considered for children
06 August 2008 17:22:31
Those without life insurance policies will be pleased to hear about a proposed program that involves vaccinating children against flu in order to provide protection for the rest of the population.
Whilst the Daily Mail claimed that running the programme could cut flu infection rates by 70 per cent, the Daily Telegraph reported that "flu could be virtually wiped out if all under 16s were vaccinated against the disease".
A similar programe was considered and subsequently rejected in 2006 by the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation, the NHS reported.
New research published in the Lancet this week suggested that the influenza vaccine did not provide as much protection as was previously thought.
In the study a group of 3,500 individuals were tested and it was uncovered that in those over 65 there was no link between the flu vaccination and the risk of those people contracting pneumonia.
UK life insurance provides cover in case of injury or illness.
HIV vaccine being trialled
05 August 2008 17:34:54
Those with and without life insurance policies may be interested to know that a trial of a vaccine for HIV patients which allows them to take breaks from their regular medication is planned, the BBC reported.
The trial, which was announced at the Aids 2008 conference in Mexico City, will involve 345 patients in both the US and Europe and the results are due by the end of 2009.
It is hoped that the vaccine could help alleviate side effects associated with the drugs currently used to treat the virus and may help delay the emergence of strains of HIV that are resistant to the drugs.
Dr Barry Peters, of Kings College London, who is leading the research in the UK, said: "A successful immunotherapeutic HIV vaccine would give patients and doctors enormous advantages over current treatments, both in developed and developing countries."
Whilst Dr Peters has qualified that the vaccine being trialled is not the "complete answer", it could go some way to helping produce a "full" vaccine.
UK life insurance provides policy holders with cover in case of illness or injury.
Intravenous Vitamin C could help fight cancer
05 August 2008 17:32:20
Large doses of Vitamin C intravenously administered to mice have succeeded in reducing the size of their tumours and it is hoped that it could prove effective in humans in the future.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has shown that the way Vitamin C is administered makes a "huge difference" to the outcome of the trial.
According to the Associated Press, injecting the mice with Vitamin C led to a chemical reaction which produced "tumour-toxic hydrogen peroxide".
Reaction in the mice was positive as the chemical that was produced damaged the membranes, metabolism and DNA of the cancer cells, but did not appear to harm healthy tissue.
Whilst the results have been positive, those without life insurance policies may be interested to know that it was noted that further trials in humans are required before the treatment can be used to help fight cancer.
In the 1970s Dr Charles Moertel conducted tests to establish the efficacy of vitamin C in treating cancer patients but his trial showed no benefit to patients. This trial however, administered the vitamin by mouth.
UK life insurance policy holders may be affected by cancer at some point in their lives.
06 August 2008 17:22:31
Those without life insurance policies will be pleased to hear about a proposed program that involves vaccinating children against flu in order to provide protection for the rest of the population.
Whilst the Daily Mail claimed that running the programme could cut flu infection rates by 70 per cent, the Daily Telegraph reported that "flu could be virtually wiped out if all under 16s were vaccinated against the disease".
A similar programe was considered and subsequently rejected in 2006 by the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation, the NHS reported.
New research published in the Lancet this week suggested that the influenza vaccine did not provide as much protection as was previously thought.
In the study a group of 3,500 individuals were tested and it was uncovered that in those over 65 there was no link between the flu vaccination and the risk of those people contracting pneumonia.
UK life insurance provides cover in case of injury or illness.
05 August 2008 17:34:54
Those with and without life insurance policies may be interested to know that a trial of a vaccine for HIV patients which allows them to take breaks from their regular medication is planned, the BBC reported.
The trial, which was announced at the Aids 2008 conference in Mexico City, will involve 345 patients in both the US and Europe and the results are due by the end of 2009.
It is hoped that the vaccine could help alleviate side effects associated with the drugs currently used to treat the virus and may help delay the emergence of strains of HIV that are resistant to the drugs.
Dr Barry Peters, of Kings College London, who is leading the research in the UK, said: "A successful immunotherapeutic HIV vaccine would give patients and doctors enormous advantages over current treatments, both in developed and developing countries."
Whilst Dr Peters has qualified that the vaccine being trialled is not the "complete answer", it could go some way to helping produce a "full" vaccine.
UK life insurance provides policy holders with cover in case of illness or injury.
05 August 2008 17:32:20
Large doses of Vitamin C intravenously administered to mice have succeeded in reducing the size of their tumours and it is hoped that it could prove effective in humans in the future.
The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has shown that the way Vitamin C is administered makes a "huge difference" to the outcome of the trial.
According to the Associated Press, injecting the mice with Vitamin C led to a chemical reaction which produced "tumour-toxic hydrogen peroxide".
Reaction in the mice was positive as the chemical that was produced damaged the membranes, metabolism and DNA of the cancer cells, but did not appear to harm healthy tissue.
Whilst the results have been positive, those without life insurance policies may be interested to know that it was noted that further trials in humans are required before the treatment can be used to help fight cancer.
In the 1970s Dr Charles Moertel conducted tests to establish the efficacy of vitamin C in treating cancer patients but his trial showed no benefit to patients. This trial however, administered the vitamin by mouth.
UK life insurance policy holders may be affected by cancer at some point in their lives.