Insurance law update – when an untruth will result in no cover
2nd December 2015
The English Court of Appeal has for the first time, recently established an absolute rule that an assured who tells a lie or relies upon false evidence to support an otherwise valid insurance claim, will forfeit the claim entirely. In other words, even if the lie or false evidence is immaterial to the insurance claim, an underwriter or insurance company will be able to successfully deny cover.
Please note that this decision of the Court of Appeal was overruled by the Supreme Court in October 2016, so that the 'fraudulent device rule' has now been abandoned by the English Court. To read a full report on the final decision of the Supreme Court in this matter please click: Supreme Court's Decision
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