Author: Dennis Chapman
Published: April 15, 2013
Reading time: 1 minute
This article is 11 years old.
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Up to now, when you purchase personal insurance it has been the consumer’s duty to disclose all material facts to the insurer without the insurer necessarily specifying what they want to know.
This has led to many disputes where insurers have failed to pay out on the basis of some spurious reason such as failure to disclose an in-growing toenail when considering a claim for a heart attack. These special contracts of insurance have required the consumer to have a duty of ‘utmost good faith’. Non insurance contracts have merely relied on misrepresentation with no particular duty of disclosure unless specifically asked. Under the new law it will be the same duty for insurance contracts.
As well as a benefit for taking out personal insurance, retailers, as with all financial services these days, must ensure that proposals for ‘drive away’ motor insurance are accurately completed and any specific questions fully answered. In case of doubt always refer the customer to the insurer and make a note on the proposal that this has taken place including date and time.
