Marine Insurance

Starting from a historical background of marine insurance law, the Article discusses several areas where “uniformity is impaired or threatened” or the law “seem confused, obscure of fluid.” The areas selected for particular discussion are: choice of law, warranties and conditions, utmost good faith in disclosures, extra-contractual damages, and causation. The Article points out disuniformities and discusses their causes and the prospects for cure. Special emphasis is placed on the problems presented by the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., which announced a departure in marine insurance cases from the traditional admiralty practice of applying admiralty law in admiralty cases. Suggestions are advanced for the mitigation of the “mischief” that case has spawned.