Marine Insurance Law Case Study

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2.1 The Concept of Uberrimae fidei in Marine Insurance Law
Section 17 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 (UK) requires parties to a marine insurance contract to observe utmost good faith. It is clear from the wording of the section that the duty is to be observed by both parties to a marine insurance contract. Although it is a mutual obligation, operating both ways, in practice the duty of utmost good faith has more than often been applied in the context of the duty of the assured to disclose.
Lord Mansfield (founder of the concept of utmost faith) in Pawson v. Watson stated that the remedy of avoidance of the policy as a result of the breach of the duty of good faith by non-disclosure, does not derive from the contract, but from a rule of law, holding that
"...by the law of merchants, all dealings must be fair …show more content…

The latter party will well be able to rescind where such party had been induced by a misstatement to enter into the contract. This is the general rule.
In certain contracts however , where a party to a contract concealed something he knew to be material, the contract will be voidable at the instance of the aggrieved party. These contracts are known as contracts of the utmost good faith, or uberrima fides. The prime example which is of course contracts of insurance.
Insurance contracts are of a fiduciary nature, i.e. it is based upon mutual trust and confidence between the insurer and the assured. It would therefore be inequitable to apply the caveat emptor rule, as the information needed by the parties in order to contract is not as apparent as with e.g. a contract of sale, where the subject matter can be inspected by the buyer. Therefore the common law duty that applies to insurance contracts is the "...much more stringent one of uberrima fides (utmost good

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