ABSTRACT
Issues of total loss may have a character of their own in War Risks cases, and this chapter will focus on those features rather than aiming for a comprehensive treatment. The Marine Insurance Act 1906 addresses “Loss and Abandonment” in sections 55–78. Section 57(2) provides that in the case of an actual total loss, no notice of abandonment need be given.6 However, such notice is required where a constructive total loss is claimed. Constructive total loss is a more complex concept. The basic concept is that there is a constructive total loss if a partial loss is financially equivalent to a total loss, even though it is not in physical terms a total loss. Although section 60(1) of the Act refers to an actual total loss “appearing to be unavoidable”, the question whether there has been a constructive total loss depends on the objective facts.
