The Court held that an aviation aircraft insurance policy describing covered aircraft by model number in the schedule, without serial numbers, was implicitly limited to aircraft owned and/or operated by the insured, rather than covering any aircraft matching the model description. This conclusion was reached by construing the coverage clause in light of the policy as a whole — including Section 1 provisions assuming proprietary rights, pilot warranties, compliance conditions, and claims notification obligations — all of which presupposed the insured's ownership or control of the covered aircraft. The Court also held that the insurer did not breach its duty of utmost good faith under s 13 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) by initially providing legal assistance before ultimately declining indemnity, as the policy did not in fact cover the claim.
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