Duty Of Fair Presentation And Its Impact On The Insurer

The duty of fair presentation has been provided by the Insurance Act 2015. This legal principle is considered as the core of the non-contentious legislation of the Legal Committee of the UK. On the basis of the duty of utmost good faith introduced by the Marine Insurance Act 1906, the new Act has rebalanced the rights and obligations between the insured and the insurer. It has been also regarded as the critical inheritance and the development of the past principle in the marine insurance field. Since the insurer has been relocated within the scope of the new stipulation system, it is beneficial to look into the insurers’ actions within the frame of the duty of fair presentation which will promote the industry growth and maintain the transaction security. Besides, through the newest achievement of the English Law, It is of significance to predict the future of the UK insurance market. There would be biggest changes with regard to the information connection between Chinese and foreign insurance markets, business contacts and operation modes due to the new legislation.This paper firstly introduces the concept of the duty of fair presentation, the comparison among the relevant definitions and the causes all based on the new legal principle. Secondly, the connotations and the denotations of the duty of fair presentation are fully illustrated in detail in order to summarize the potential impact on the insurer when concluding the insurance contract with the insured. Thirdly, while there is the violation of the duty of fair presentation, parties focus on the qualifying breach and try to solve the problem by examining the principle of proportionate remedies. The effect with regard to the insurer’s choice when applying the new mode of the remedies is analyzed as well. Lastly, when compared with the Chinese Insurance Law field, the potential experience learned from English Law will be discussed.