DUTY OF DISCLOSURE
Section 21 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 provides that before You enter into a contract of general insurance with an Insurer, You have a duty to disclose to the Insurer every matter that You know, or could reasonably be expected to know, is relevant to the Insurer’s decision whether to accept the risk of the insurance and, if so, upon what terms. You have the same duty to disclose those matters to the Insurer before: You renew, extend, vary or reinstate a contract of general insurance.
However, Your duty of disclosure does not require You to disclose matters that:
• diminish the risk to be undertaken by the Insurer;
• that are of common knowledge;
• that Your Insurer knows or, in the ordinary course of its business, ought to know;
• as to which compliance with Your duty is waived by the Insurer.
This duty of disclosure continues after this application form has been completed up until the Period of
Insurance commences.
Failure to comply with Your duty of disclosure, the Insurer may be entitled to reduce its liability under the contract in respect of a claim or may cancel the contract. If Your non-disclosure is fraudulent, the Insurer may also have the option of avoiding the contract from its beginning.
