ABSTRACT
The rules of law governing the formation of contracts of insurance are those which govern the formation of most other contracts. Some degree of negotiation usually precedes insurance contracted on the Lloyd's market, which has particular features. Many contracts of insurance are concluded simply by the insurer's acceptance of an application for insurance submitted by the person seeking insurance, on a form drafted and made available to such persons by the insurer. Sooner or later a critical moment occurs when it appears that one party has made a definitive offer for acceptance or rejection by the other, and on which attention is focused to determine whether it is indeed such an offer. For there to be an offer there must be sufficient certainty: certainty about the terms agreed, as well as certainty of intention, in the sense of willingness to be bound in those terms on the part of the alleged offeror.
