Commercial Duty of Disclosure

We want to clarify your responsibilities when you take out an insurance policy so that your policy can give you the protection you need.

We need to be told many important and material facts so we can give you the maximum support when you need it. For a start, you must provide complete and accurate information to us before the cover starts and you must check that all the facts are correct on the Proposal Form or Statement of Fact. It’s very important to remember that you must tell us about any material change to the risk following the inception of your policy, at renewal, or any other time while the policy is in force. It’s also important to note that in the case of property insurance, the failure to have property insurance in place could lead to a breach of the terms and conditions attaching to any loan secured on that property. 

A material fact is relevant information (or misinformation) which could influence our decision to either accept the risk, or the terms offered. Failure to disclose all of the information could invalidate your policy. This means that claims may not be paid in full or perhaps not at all. This failure to disclose could have serious consequences when attempting to obtain insurance from any other provider.

Please make sure that you read all documents issued to you and ensure that you are aware of the cover, limits and other terms that apply. Always ask us if you are unsure of anything and we will be very happy to help. 

Important notice about your duty of disclosure

You are entering a legal contract with an insurance company. That means you are obliged to answer or confirm all our questions honestly and disclose or confirm all information as set out in the Proposal Form or Statement of Fact. If you have any questions, just ask us and we’ll answer them fairly. We would like to ensure that all claims are paid for you, but remember this is only possible when all the facts are disclosed at the outset.

Such items include:

1. All previous claims or incidents

Even though a claim was made and did not succeed, or occurred anytime within the last five years, it will be recorded on a common claims register, to which most insurers have access. This register will be checked once a claim is lodged. If you omit to disclose a previous claim or incident that may have given rise to a claim within the last five years, then any future claim by you for any cover under the policy may not be entertained.

2. Description of Business Activities

A full and accurate description of your business activities must be disclosed.

3. Convictions

You must tell us about any criminal convictions, whether received anytime in the past, or pending actions, or which occur during the lifetime of the policy. If you don’t your policy could be invalid.

4. Description of risk to be covered

We require an accurate description of any property to be insured. You must also tell us about any unoccupancy of your property, partial or otherwise.

It is really important that you disclose all information to us in full. If you fail to disclose a material fact or misrepresent a material fact in order to obtain insurance it can be considered fraud and we are obliged to hand over any documentation/call recordings or video footage in our possession to the relevant authorities, which may result in prosecution.