Reasonable care/precautions condition

Condition requiring an insured to take reasonable precautions to prevent accidents and safeguard property. The clause is not usually construed as a warranty, enabling the insurer to repudiate the liability irrespective of a causal connection between the breach and the loss (Lane v. Spratt (1970)). A liability policy is triggered by the insured’s negligence and so it would be repugnant to avoid liability because of the insured’s lack of care except, depending on the facts, where lack of care amounts to recklessness.

Reasonable man

The objective test in negligence is based on the ‘acts or omissions’ of the reasonable man – the ‘man on the Clapham omnibus who does ‘not have to possess the wisdom of a Hebrew Prophet or the agility of an acrobat’. No person is an ‘insurer’ of his fellow men – there has to be fault, which, in negligence, means falling below the standard of the reasonable man.

Reasonably practicable

Regulation 12(3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (and other regulations): ‘all floors, steps, stairs, passages, and gangways shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be kept free from any obstruction and from any substance likely to cause a person to slip’. This is the lowest of the duties (compare with properly maintained and all practicable steps). The occupier can weigh the cost against the risk and the expected efficacy of the measures. Reasonable practicability is considered stricter than negligence and it is for the employer to prove that compliance was impracticable.

Rebellion

The taking up of arms traitorously against the government of the state. It is a graver form of insurrection for general purposes in which there is usurped power amounting to treason. (F.H. Jones).

Rebuilding cost

The cost of rebuilding premises following its destruction by an insured peril. The amount, taking into account professional fees and debris removal, should represent the sum insured under a buildings reinstatement insurance. The ABI’s guide on buildings costs is drawn from the ‘Guide to House Rebuilding Costs’ published by the Building Cost Information Service of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Received for shipment bill The bill of lading issued prior to shipment stating the particulars of goods and their apparent condition. Under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 such a bill may be demanded by a shipper from the shipowner.