PORTWOOD GUIDES & RESOURCES
Insurance Act 2015
Insurance law guidance.
Understand the information you need to give your insurer and the protections that can affect a claim. The Insurance Act 2015 covers several areas; the fair presentation duty below applies to commercial, non-consumer insurance.
01Present your business risk fairlyAt purchase, renewal and when agreeing a policy change.+
- Disclose material circumstances you know or ought to know, or provide enough information to alert the insurer that further enquiries are needed. Present it clearly and accessibly.
- Check facts with senior management and the people arranging your insurance. Make a reasonable search of available information, including relevant information held by others on your behalf.
- Review business activities, premises, occupancy, construction, previous claims and sums insured. Tell Portwood about uncertainty or changes before cover is arranged; do not rely on sending an unreviewed bundle of documents.
02If important information is wrong or missingThe remedy depends on the breach and the insurer’s underwriting decision.+
- The insurer must establish a qualifying breach: it would not have insured the risk, or would have done so on different terms, if the duty had been met.
- For a deliberate or reckless qualifying breach, the insurer can avoid the contract, refuse claims and retain the premium.
- For other qualifying breaches, it may avoid cover and return the premium if it would not have insured at all, apply different terms, or reduce a claim proportionately if it would have charged more. Separate rules apply to policy variations.
03Warranties and the effect of a breachA breach does not automatically end the whole policy under the default rules.+
- Section 10 replaces automatic discharge of liability with suspension for losses occurring, or attributable to events happening, during an unremedied breach.
- A remediable breach can restore protection for future losses once it is remedied. It does not retrospectively cover losses attributable to the breach period. Some breaches cannot be remedied.
04Terms relevant to a particular riskSection 11 can limit reliance on certain breaches.+
- Where a term is aimed at reducing a particular type of loss, or loss at a particular place or time, the insurer may be restricted from relying on a breach if you show it could not have increased the risk of the loss that actually occurred.
- This protection has limits, including for terms defining the risk as a whole. It does not make every condition optional. Keep evidence of compliance and ask Portwood about the wording.
05What the FCA expects when you claimClaims should be handled fairly and without unreasonable rejection.+
- FCA rule ICOBS 8.1.1 requires prompt, fair claims handling, reasonable help with making a claim, appropriate progress information and prompt settlement once terms are agreed.
- The FCA’s consumer claims guidance also refers to the Insurance Act’s rules on warranties, risk-related terms and fraud. Keep your evidence and ask for the policy basis of any refusal.
06Check which rules apply to your policyCommercial and personal insurance are treated differently.+
- Consumer insurance uses the separate duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation under the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012.
- Some commercial policies can contract out of certain Insurance Act protections, subject to statutory restrictions and transparency requirements. Ask Portwood to explain any term that changes the default position.
Your policy wording and endorsements determine your cover and specific obligations. Ask Portwood if a requirement is unclear or cannot be met.
Guidance carried over from your Portwood app.