Insurance Claims for Marine Collision – Court Examines Constructive Total Loss, Responsibilities of the Insured, and Notification

In PT Adidaya Energy Mandiri v MS First Capital Insurance Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC(I) 14, the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC“) was faced with a claim for constructive total loss (“CTL“) under a marine insurance policy arising from collision damage. The SICC held that the insurer was not liable to the insured, and considered a number of issues relating to the insurance coverage for the claim, including the proving of CTL; late notice of abandonment; the responsibilities of the insured under certain warranties provided in the policy; and compliance with the policy’s claim notification requirements.

The insurer was successfully represented by Jainil Bhandari, Aleksandar Georgiev, Kristin Ng and Nathaniel Loh of Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.

In this Update, we provide a summary of the key points of the judgment and the SICC’s consideration of the issues above.