Green v AMP Life Limited

The dispute in *Green v AMP Life Limited* concerned a life insurance policy where the insurer, AMP Life Limited, ceased making payments to the insured, Mr Green, after two years of him suffering a mental illness. The insured contended that the policy entitled him to ongoing payments, while the insurer argued that the policy had been amended to limit such payments to two years. The matter was heard by Spigelman CJ, Giles and Basten JJA in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The court was required to determine whether the insurance policy had been validly amended to impose a two-year limit on payments for mental illness. This involved assessing whether the parties' objective intent was that such a variation took effect and whether the variation complied with the requirements of the *Life Insurance Act 1995* (Cth). Additionally, the court considered whether AMP Life Limited was estopped from asserting the variation, based on an implied representation that there were no significant limitations on payments. Finally, the court examined whether AMP Life Limited's conduct in providing a statement that did not refer to the two-year limitation was misleading or deceptive under the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth), or if there was a breach of that Act for failing to advise of the amendment.

The court reasoned that the evidence did not establish that the parties intended the variation to take effect, nor that the variation was made in accordance with the *Life Insurance Act 1995* (Cth). The court found that AMP Life Limited had not made any implied representation that there were no significant limitations on payments, and therefore, the insurer was not estopped from asserting the variation. Furthermore, the court concluded that the conduct of AMP Life Limited was not misleading or deceptive under the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth).

The appeal was dismissed with costs.