When you provide information or complete a proposal form for business insurance, you must ensure the details you give are complete and accurate. This is called ‘disclosing’ and making a ‘fair presentation’ of the risks involved and is required by law as your duty. It may compromise your cover if you fail to do so.

In August 2016, a new law was introduced, known as the Insurance Act 2015. Its objective was to make information about risk more transparent to the insurance company, so that appropriate cover could be provided, with the onus on the policyholder to give clear, accurate, accessible information.

What information do I need to provide?
Under the terms of the new Act, you need to provide all relevant facts, information and circumstances when arranging insurance. This enables the insurer to make a fair judgment about the level of risk, premium required and terms of the policy, and whether they are prepared to accept the risk. It’s referred to as information your senior management ‘ought to know’, which is readily available to anyone carrying out a search into your company.

What if I fail to disclose information?
If you fail to provide accurate information it could invalidate the terms of your policy, rendering you underinsured or without cover.

What if I need to make changes?
If you need to make changes to your policy or at renewal, it is still your duty to provide the relevant information about the risks involved.

How do I know what to disclose? 
That’s where we can help. As your broker, Mathews Comfort can advise, ensuring you provide the appropriate information and are fully covered should you need to make a claim. To learn more about disclosure and presentation of risk, call us on 01865 292929 or email info@mathewscomfort.com

Sources:
www.bluedropservices.co.uk
www.marsh.com/uk/services/
(Note: Contains Duty of Disclosure and Fair Presentation download document)