Non-disclosure - Overview
When you arrange or renew any insurance or life assurance you need to tell the insurance company about anything that might influence its decision to insure you at all and, if so, the price it will charge.
If you don't tell the insurer about something that would have influenced its decision up-front, the insurer may refuse to pay a claim if you make one later. And it will refuse to pay because of non-disclosure.
So, for example, tell a car insurer about any accidents that you or another driver has had if you're arranging or renewing your car insurance - even if a claim was not made or the accident happened whilst driving a different vehicle. And tell a home insurer about any previous incidents if you're arranging home buildings or home contents insurance - even if a claim was not made or it is something that happened before you bought the property (e.g. subsidence) - and however unimportant you think the incident was!
And it's not just incidents you must tell them about. You must also 'disclose':
- any refusal by any insurer to insure you previously, or agreement to insure you only on special terms
- any criminal convictions
- if you've been made bankrupt
The insurer will normally tell you what you need to disclose and put a time limit on how far you have to go back. Ask the insurer if they don't tell you automatically.