Direct Travel Insurance v McGewn
Decision date: 12 November 2003
Neutral citation: [2003] EWCA Civ 1606
Court: Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Insurance classification confidence: high
Overall AI summary confidence: medium
Short overview
A short description of the case, material issue, and outcome where supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this overview: medium
This appeal concerned whether a single-trip holiday insurance "personal accident" clause paying £50,000 for "a permanent physical disability which prevents you from doing all your usual activities" was triggered by the insured's loss of particular activities after a road accident. The Court of Appeal held that the clause requires an inability to pursue the insured's full range of significant non-working activities taken in the round, not merely inability to carry out any one activity, and quashed the county court's £50,000 award, ordering a rehearing with evidence on the range and significance of activities lost.
Ratio decidendi
The legal reasoning necessary to the outcome, where it can safely be identified from the judgment.
AI confidence in this ratio summary: medium
The clause's phrase "prevents you from doing all [your] usual activities" must be construed to mean inability to pursue the insured's substantial range of non-working activities in the round (social, sporting, domestic or personal), not that loss of any single activity suffices; accordingly determination is fact-sensitive and requires careful consideration of evidence about the full range and significance of activities lost.
Obiter dicta
Judicial observations that were not necessary to the outcome, where they can safely be identified.
AI confidence in this obiter summary: low
No clear obiter dicta can safely be identified from the judgment.
Warning
The automated summary was prepared from selected parts of a longer judgment; consult the original decision for the complete reasoning. The middle of the judgment was omitted, which may exclude detailed intermediate reasoning and any other factual or legal material relied on by the court.