Jones v. Zurich Insurance [2021] EWHC 1320 (Comm)
When obtaining insurance cover for his Rolex watch in May 2018, Mr Jones made a representation to the insurer (Zurich), through his insurance broker, that he had not made any other insurance claim in the previous five years. This was not accurate as Mr Jones had previously claimed for a lost diamond in 2016.
Mr Jones put forward an insurance claim for loss of his beloved Rolex watch (valued at £ 190,000), said to have come off his wrist while skiing. The insurer turned down the claim on the basis that Mr Jones made a misrepresentation on his claim history and it would not have written the policy, or would have written it on materially different terms, had the true state of affairs been disclosed (s. 2(2) of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representation) Act (CIDRA) 2012). In the alternative, the insurer argued that if it had known the true state of affairs, it would have charged a substantially higher premium and the claim should be reduced proportionately. The insurer did not plead that the misrepresentation was “deliberate or reckless”.
His Honour Judge Peeling QC had no hesitation in holding that the assured failed to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer when questioned about his claim history and he was also satisfied that the insurer could avoid the policy as it managed to demonstrate that it would not have entered into the insurance contract at all had it been aware of the previous claim made in 2016 for a lost diamond. In reaching this decision, the judge considered expert evidence from underwriters. Both experts agreed that some underwriters might accept this particular risk at higher premium and others would refuse to underwrite altogether, but different in emphasis as to how usual a refusal to underwrite would be. However, what ultimately swayed the judge was the fact that the underwriter (Mr Green) had expressed concern in his written notes about the jewellery element of the cover. He also stated in his evidence that “the answer to whether or not there had been ant previous claim was extremely significant to my assessment of the risk… it was already a case which was borderline declinature… it’s just not one which would fit our underwriting strategy.”. The judge accepted his evidence.
The judgment makes clear that the burden of proof on the insurer to establish that it would not have entered into an insurance contract is a high one but can certainly be satisfied especially in cases where underwriters could present to judge written notes confirming their hesitancy to take the risk in the first instance supported by reliable expert evidence. The relevant underwriter’s contemporaneous notes and records giving clues about his thought process at underwriting stage as well as copes of e-mails and documents provided by the assured and his broker were very helpful to advance the insurer’s case.
The case was considered under the CIDRA 2012 (as this was personal insurance) but it is certainly a good illustration as to how the judges might interpret certain parts of the Insurance Act (IA) 2015 since CIDRA 2012 and IA 2015 share similar provisions (i.e. both of these legal instruments allow an insurer to avoid the policy for misrepresentation if the insurer can demonstrate that the misrepresentation was “deliberate or reckless” or “the insurer would not have underwritten the policy on any terms had there been no misrepresentation”).