Part I The Bermuda Market and Form, 2 Introduction to the Bermuda Form

Subject(s):

Limitation of liability — Damages — Contracts and insurance — Policies of insurance

This chapter first describes the three interrelated categories of problems identified by insurers leading up to the introduction of the Bermuda Form. These include the unreliability of stated policy limits of liability; exposure to injuries, damage and events taking place in the distant past; and uncertainty of what body or bodies of law would control the interpretation of a policy. It then discusses the hallmark features of the Bermuda Form, covering the occurrence first reported trigger and continuous policy, bifurcated occurrence definition/time element pollution exclusion, high per occurrence retention/broader principles of loss aggregation, no duty to defend the insured or pay sums on its behalf, expectation and experience of rate or level of injury or property damage, and law and principles governing interpretation/arbitration.