American Home Assurance Company v King (as Executrix of the Ethe Late Frederick King)

[2001] NSWCA 201

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Insurance
2. › Accident insurance
3. › Policy exclusion
4. › Deliberately self inflicted injury
5. › Onus of proof on insurer
6. › Whether insurer discharged onus of proving suicide
7. › Standard of proof
1. Evidence
2. › Standard of proof
3. › Civil proceedings
4. › Briginshaw standard
5. › Application to proof of suicide in insurance claim
6. › Whether balance of probabilities or greater degree of satisfaction required
1. Evidence
2. › Presumptions
3. › Presumption against suicide
4. › Whether presumption still operates
5. › Proper inference on the whole of the evidence
6. › Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 31A

Quick Take

In insurance claims involving an exclusion for deliberately self-inflicted injury, the insurer bears the onus of proving suicide on the balance of probabilities with the degree of satisfaction recognised in Briginshaw v Briginshaw, as applied in Clark v NZI Life Ltd. The language of presumption against suicide has been largely supplanted by the language of the proper inference to draw on the whole of the evidence. Section 31A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) abrogated the rule that suicide is a crime, removing any basis for distinguishing Clark on that ground.