Life insurance: can a death benefit cover terminal illness if medical treatment provides a cure?
/Catherwood v Asteron Life Ltd [2022] NZHC 3296
The High Court has recently denied Mr Catherwood’s claim for breach of a life insurance policy for terminal illness. The Court addressed the issue of whether the definition of “terminal illness” and “terminally ill” in the policy intended to take into account the effect of available medical treatment on a person’s life expectancy. The Court held that Asteron Life Limited (Asteron) had not breached the terms of the contract of insurance by denying the terminal illness extension of the life policy, when Mr Catherwood had treatment available to him that meant he was not going to die.
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