The Federal Court of Australia is to introduce an insurance list within its Commercial and Corporations National Practice Area.

Chief Justice James Allsop says he will start the list in Melbourne next month and extend it to other registries in subsequent weeks.

A briefing note obtained by insuranceNEWS.com.au says the list is not intended to deal with all insurance claims lodged in the courts. It will instead focus on cases that require policy interpretation and the operation of insurance law.

“The list will provide a forum for questions of construction of policies or questions of law, especially statutory construction,” the note says.

“The resolution of such questions may not resolve the totality of the particular dispute, but may provide a greater opportunity for the resolution of the balance of the dispute by agreement or meditation.”

It is expected hearings will not exceed two hours and will aim to provide quick solutions in areas such as wording or pricing of policies.

“The aim is to provide to underwriters, reinsurers, brokers and insureds a list that caters for the prompt and efficient resolution of legal issues to enable the parties to otherwise resolve their disputes without the need for full-blown hearings,” the note says.

The first list will be published in Melbourne on March 10 and 11.

A Sydney list will be published on March 21 and 22, followed by Perth on April 5 and 6, Brisbane on April 19 and 20, and Adelaide on April 26 and 27.