Not upheld: breach of duty of fair presentation of risk; non-disclosure of County Court Judgements complaint against QBE UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs O, sole director of company C, made a buildings insurance claim with QBE for storm damage. During claim validation, QBE discovered two undisclosed active County Court Judgements against Mrs O and declined the claim, voiding the policy from inception and refunding premiums. Mrs O argued she was unaware of the CCJs and had provided information to the best of her knowledge. The ombudsman found that Mrs O had a duty under the Insurance Act 2015 to make a fair presentation of risk and should have been reasonably aware of at least one CCJ registered to the insured property's address. Since QBE's underwriting criteria confirmed it would not have offered cover if aware of the CCJs, the ombudsman upheld QBE's decision and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Under the Insurance Act 2015, as a commercial customer, C had a duty to make a fair presentation of risk. This duty extends beyond direct questions to include all details a customer should reasonably be aware of. Mrs O should have been reasonably aware of at least one CCJ registered to the same address as the insured property. The ombudsman found a careless breach of the duty of fair presentation occurred. QBE's underwriting criteria confirmed it would not have offered cover if aware of the CCJs, making the policy voidance and premium refund an appropriate remedy under the Insurance Act.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website