Insurance insights: Casualty, Autumn 2026
This edition brings together five articles covering significant legal developments across litigation, data protection, product liability and regulatory compliance, each with direct implications for insurers' claims handling, underwriting and risk management strategies.
We address the following:
The first judgment on the scope of the new limitation provisions under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, in KHX v Isle of Wight Council, confirming that the removal of time limits for sexual abuse claims does not extend to distinct allegations of physical abuse advanced in the same proceedings.
The Supreme Court hearing in Farley v Paymaster (Equiniti), which will determine whether claimants must demonstrate that non-material damage crosses a minimum threshold of seriousness before damages can be recovered under the UK GDPR, with significant implications for mass data-breach litigation.
The first judicial application of the Supreme Court's ruling in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in JBX v Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, confirming that ASHE average earnings and the conventional 50% living-expenses discount will apply where the evidence does not justify departure from those benchmarks in child lost years claims.
The new principal use regulations under Martyn's Law, setting out the two-stage test for determining the responsible person and applicable compliance tier for mixed-use premises, ahead of the Act's anticipated commencement in spring 2027.
The Law Commission's consultation on the overhaul of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, proposing to extend strict product liability to software and AI, reform the development risks defence, and introduce supply chain liability - with far-reaching implications for insurers across product liability, cyber, professional indemnity and directors' and officers' lines.
Together, the articles reflect the breadth of legal and regulatory change with which insurers must engage, spanning abuse claims litigation, catastrophic injury quantum, data protection liability, terrorism preparedness across a wide range of liability and specialty lines.
Casualty, Autumn 2026: Contents
- Lost years claims for Child Claimants: The first post-CCC assessment
- Does a data breach need to pass a ‘threshold of seriousness’ to justify compensation?
- Crime and Policing Act 2026: Scope of new limitation regime confined to sexual abuse claims
- Martyn's Law: Determining principal use of premises
- Law Commission: Proposed overhaul of product liability law for the digital age
Kevin Lawson
Partner
kevin.lawson@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)121 237 3935
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