header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
10 April 2008 / Graham Ludlam , Kenneth Mckenzie
Issue: 7316 / Categories: Features , Insurance / reinsurance , Constitutional law , Commercial
printer mail-detail

Ripe for Reform

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Is the current UK insurance law out of step with the market? Kenneth McKenzie and Graham Ludlam consider possible areas of reform

The current law imposes heavy duties on those applying for insurance. If the duty is not met, the consequence can be that all insurance cover is lost. Insurance contracts are based on the principle of uberrimae fides, giving rise to duties on both the insurer and insured to act with the utmost good faith. The most common manifestation of the duty is the obligation on the insured to give full disclosure of all material facts and by representing only the true facts to the insurer at the time the proposal for the insurance contract is made. Whether this obligation has been met is currently judged by reference to the viewpoint of underwriters.

If the policyholder fails in this duty, and the insurer can show that, if the true position had been known, it would not have agreed to the policy on the same terms (or at all),

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll