Before we move forward to what Insurance Law is, it is important to know what insurance is. Insurance is a contract whereby, for specified consideration, one party undertakes to compensate the other for a loss relating to a particular subject as a result of the occurrence of designated hazards
Insurance Law is, as the name implies, the body of law pertaining to insurance. This includes insurance policies, insurance claims, insurance regulations and rates, and recently enacted laws, like the Affordable Care Act. Basically, insurance law can be broken into three categories: the business of insurance, the content of insurance policies, and the handling of claims.
August 2016 saw the most important changes to UK insurance law for over 100 years with the coming into force of the Insurance Act 2015. The Act introduced key changes to the duty of disclosure in commercial insurance contracts, policy terms and insurers’ remedies for fraudulent claims.
Under the Insurance Act, non-consumer insurers have a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk and the requirements to satisfy the duty that are set out in the Act. There have also been significant changes to the remedies available to insurers for non-disclosure and misrepresentation. Except where the breach of the duty to make a fair presentation is deliberate or reckless, proportionate remedies (based on what the insurer would have done if full disclosure had been made) will apply. In addition, the concept of warranties remains, but with important modifications. Further, in cases of fraudulent claims, insurers have the option to terminate the cover from the date of the fraudulent act without returning premium.
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