The Insurance Act 2015 came into force earlier this year reforming key areas of the Law of Insurance.
The Insurance Act 2015 is viewed as a landmark piece of legislation since it is the first statute to be introduced which will significantly reform the law of insurance since the Marine Insurance Act 1906. The Act came into force on the 12th of August 2016 and reformed four areas of Insurance Law:
1. The Duty of Good Faith
The Duty of Good Faith is heavily reformed and the Insurance Act in fact introduced a “new duty”: the duty of fair presentation. In addition, the remedy of avoidance is abolished and the new remedy is that of a proportionate scheme.
2. Warranties
Although the definition of a warranty remains the same, again the Insurance Act changes the remedy available. Instead of automatic discharge of liability, risk will now be suspended until the breach has been
3. Other Terms
Section 11 of the Insurance Act reforms other terms of an insurance policy. This Section will apply only to terms which do not define the risk as a whole but do relate to loss of a particular kind and at a particular location or time.
4. Fraudulent Claims
Finally, a statutory remedy for fraudulent claims is introduced, namely, forfeiture of the entire claim.
The full text of The Insurance Act 2015 can be viewed at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/4/enacted/data.pdf