Duty of Disclosure

Duty of Disclosure is about what you need to tell the insurer and your broker.

Always tell the truth

Insurance is based on the principle of utmost good faith.

Put simply, you have a duty to provide truthful, complete and correct information about your circumstances, including your health and medical history.

Your duty of disclosure extends to the date the insurance is concluded between the insurer and you.

For example, you are required to tell the insurer if they are diagnosed with a medical condition after the date of the application but before you’ve agreed to any terms of cover the insurer offers you.

If the insurer will offer to cover you, you will be insured based on the information you’ve disclosed.

Answer questions as fully as you can

Applying for insurance involves responding to a number of questions.

Your answers need to include as much detail relating to your current and past circumstances as possible.

While this may take time, it is important to ask the questions in full to ensure that the insurer has all the information they need when we make the decision to insure you and on what terms.

If in doubt, tell us

If you are uncertain of the relevance of any information, our advice is to include it on the application form because, even if you are unsure, it may be important to the insurer.

If someone else is completing the form on your behalf, it is important that you check that the information is correct and nothing has been left out.

If you don’t know something, say so

If you don’t know the answer to a question it is not an issue.

If the underwriter thinks they need more information about the answer to a question so the insurer can offer you insurance, the insurer will need to obtain the information from somewhere else. By signing the declaration and consent form, you’re giving the insurer consent to get this information.

Know what you are signing

By acknowledging the declaration, you are saying that you have answered all of the questions completely and to the best of your knowledge, as well as providing any other information that may influence the insurer’s decision about your policy.

If you are uncertain about any of your answers, you need to let us know and make us aware.

How non-disclosure affects claims

When you can make a claim, the insurer may look further into your personal history.
If the insurers discover that you did not provide them with material information that would have changed the decision to insure you or the terms of the insurance policy, the insurer may amend the terms of their insurance policy.

It does not matter if the new information is about a condition unrelated to your claim.

If the insurer discovers that you haven’t told them something material, the insurer may either alter the terms of your policy – which might affect your claim, or the insurer may avoid your policy from its inception which means that you would not be able to make a claim as no policy would exist.