PORTWOOD GUIDES & RESOURCES
Warranties and conditions precedent
Understand your policy obligations.
Pay particular attention to every warranty and condition in your policy. Non-compliance can affect cover and lead to a claim being reduced or declined, depending on the wording and applicable law.
01Find every requirementImportant terms may appear in several documents.+
- Check the policy wording, schedule, endorsements and special terms. Warranties are not always labelled “warranty”.
- Look for requirements about alarms, locks, inspections, unoccupied premises, hot works, maintenance and notifying claims. The requirements depend on your own policy.
- Identify the person responsible for each action and its deadline. Ask Portwood for advice if a statement is unclear or you cannot comply.
02What a breach of warranty can meanUnder the default Insurance Act rules, liability is suspended during the breach.+
- A breach of warranty suspends the insurer’s liability rather than automatically bringing it to an end. Losses occurring, or attributable to events happening, before the breach is remedied can be affected.
- Where a breach can be remedied, complying again can restore protection for future losses. It does not retrospectively cover the breach period.
- Some breaches may not be capable of remedy, including statements about a building’s construction. Ask us before assuming cover has restarted. Check any commercial terms that alter the statutory default.
03The link between a breach and the lossKeep evidence; the legal protection is not automatic.+
- Where section 11 applies, you must show the non-compliance could not have increased the risk of the loss that occurred in the circumstances in which it occurred.
- The rule concerns terms intended to reduce particular risks. It does not apply to every condition or to a term defining the risk as a whole.
- Keep dated inspection logs, certificates, service records and photographs. Give these to Portwood promptly if a claim is questioned.
04Conditions precedentSome actions must be completed before cover or liability attaches.+
- A condition precedent to attachment can require an action before the policy, or a particular section, becomes effective. If it is unmet, that cover may not start.
- A condition precedent to liability can require compliance before the insurer must pay a particular claim. The consequences depend on the wording, type of condition and applicable legal protections.
- Read the insurer’s documents for the consequences of non-compliance. Contact Portwood immediately if an action has been missed; do not assume that every breach invalidates the entire policy or that an insurer has waived it.
05Make compliance part of your routineAssign, record and review your policy obligations.+
- List each requirement, the person responsible, the due date and the evidence you will retain.
- Review the list at renewal and whenever your premises, equipment or business activities change. Check contractors understand relevant insurance requirements.
- Tell Portwood promptly if a requirement cannot be met. Failing to comply may leave you without cover for a loss and could result in a claim not being paid.
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.