The popular dating website, AshleyMadison (with the slogan “Life is short. Have an affair”) was hacked about a month ago by the Impact Team, a self-professed hacktivism group that threatens to release confidential user information if their demands to take down websites are not met. The Impact Team has now followed through on their threat
Even though the law discourages fraudulent insurance claims, South African insurers still have to protect themselves when it comes to fraud.
While the English courts apply draconian and deterrent laws to prevent fraud, South African law only disallows the portion of an insurance claim that is fraudulent. The valid part of a partially fraudulent claim
The expanding regulatory framework has led to the increase of niche insurance products to cater for risks such as cyber liability and business rescue. The Consumer Protection Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act also add to the growing list of insurable risks.
Liability insurance will gain importance as increased consumer awareness leads to
Small-scale embedded generation (SSEG), particularly rooftop solar photovoltaic systems, are increasingly used by South Africans as an alternative solution to South Africa’s current energy supply challenge. The Integrated Resource Plan 2010-2030 Update estimates that residential and commercial PV embedded generation could reach 22.5GW by 2020. However, there is no legal framework for the implementation of
A USA appeal court held that an insurer had no duty to indemnify its policyholder in a class action brought on behalf of alleged recipients of junk faxes. The class action claimed $500 in statutory damages for each of 44 000 unsolicited advertisement faxes sent between 2005 and 2008. The policy had a $1 000
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association Inc. (ISDA) indicated that South Africa has been in focus over recent months since the margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives transactions were published for comment in June 2015. The aim of the requirements is to outline the future regulation of OTC derivatives in South Africa in line with
In early July 2015 the High Court declared aspects of a long-established but often abused debt collecting process unlawful, with potential wide-ranging consequences. It could render hundreds of thousands of salary attachment orders unenforceable. In our recent blog post we highlighted the findings of what is known as the Desai Judgment (after the judge who
The judgment in Khoza v MEC for Health and Social Development, Gauteng re-emphasises the utmost importance of maintaining and preserving all hospital and medical records in the original state.
This was a cerebral palsy claim for brain damage sustained during a birth at a provincial hospital. The CTG records had gone missing without any explanation.
A US supreme court held that an insurer does not have to defend or indemnify an exercise equipment store after its delivery workers dropped an exercise machine on a customer. The policy excluded events that occurred while loading or unloading property to the place of final delivery.
At the time the employees were trying to
The Constitutional Court refused leave to appeal against the Supreme Court of Appeal decision that a “binding offer” to a creditor in business rescue proceedings, made under s 153(1)(b)(ii) of the 2008 Companies Act, is not automatically binding on the creditor.
The appeal had “no prospects of success” which effectively confirms the correctness of the