Fair presentation

Category: Placing and disclosure · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · ~2 min read

Definition

Section 3 of the Insurance Act 2015 requires a non-consumer insured to make a fair presentation of the risk before the contract is entered into. A fair presentation has three components: disclosure of every material circumstance the insured knows or ought to know (or, failing that, disclosure that puts a prudent insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries); disclosure made in a manner that would be reasonably clear and accessible to a prudent insurer; and every material representation of fact being substantially correct, with every material representation of expectation or belief made in good faith. The same duty applies to variations of an existing contract.

What is material

A circumstance is material if it would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in deciding whether to take the risk and on what terms. Section 7(3) lists examples of what may be material, including special or unusual facts about the risk, particular concerns that led the insured to seek cover, and anything that a person in that market would generally understand should be dealt with. Materiality is judged by reference to the prudent insurer, not the actual underwriter, though inducement of the actual underwriter is a separate requirement before any remedy arises.

Whose knowledge counts

Sections 4 to 6 define knowledge. A corporate insured knows what is known to its senior management and to those responsible for arranging its insurance, including its broker. It also ought to know what a reasonable search of information available to it would reveal, which may include information held by others such as group companies or agents. The insurer, for its part, is treated as knowing what its own underwriting staff know, what is common knowledge, and what an insurer writing that class of business would reasonably be expected to know — and the insured need not disclose those things.

Remedies for breach

Under section 8 the insurer has a remedy only where the breach is a “qualifying breach”, meaning that but for it the insurer would not have entered the contract at all, or would have done so on different terms. The remedies are set out in Schedule 1 and are proportionate. If the breach was deliberate or reckless the insurer may avoid the contract, refuse all claims and keep the premium. Otherwise the outcome mirrors what the insurer would have done: avoidance with return of premium if it would have declined the risk altogether; the contract read as if the different terms applied if it would have imposed them; and a proportionate reduction of the claim if it would have charged more premium.

Practical effect

The duty replaced the old law of non-disclosure and misrepresentation, under which any material non-disclosure allowed avoidance of the whole policy however innocent it was. The Act keeps the obligation to disclose but softens the consequence, and adds an explicit obligation about the way information is presented: a “data dump” of unsorted material is not a fair presentation. For a fuller treatment of the reasonable search, senior management knowledge, inducement and the proportionate remedies, see the deep-dive entry on the Insurance Act 2015 duty.

Frequently asked questions

Is fair presentation the same as the old duty of utmost good faith?

It replaces the pre-2016 disclosure rules for business insurance. The obligation to disclose survives, but avoidance of the whole policy is no longer the automatic remedy: Schedule 1 to the Insurance Act 2015 provides proportionate remedies instead.

Does a fair presentation mean disclosing everything?

No. It means disclosing every material circumstance you know or ought to know, or giving the insurer enough to prompt further enquiry, presented in a reasonably clear and accessible way.

Whose knowledge is the business fixed with?

That of its senior management and of those responsible for arranging its insurance, plus whatever a reasonable search of information available to the organisation would reveal.

Related entries

• Insurance Act 2015 fair presentation: deep dive
• Material circumstance
• Notification of claim
• Bad faith claim

This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed 2026-08-21. Next review: 2027-02-21. It is general reference information about UK insurance law and market practice, not regulated advice on a specific policy.

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This page is general information, not advice on a specific policy.