Interpreting insurance contracts (part 6 – objective interpretation)

Donald Dinnie, Norton Rose Fulbright

The interpretation process is objective, not subjective.

The court cannot substitute what it regards as reasonable, sensible or business-like for the words actually used. The court should not in those circumstances rewrite the contract made by the parties.

Courts should not ‘make a contract for the parties other than the one they in fact made’. See Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund v Endumini Municipality (SCA).

Have a look at the rest of the posts in our series on interpreting insurance contracts. You can also read more on interpretation of contracts, here.

First published by: Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot