Chapter 3

Section 1: Duty of disclosure of the person effecting the insurance

Clause 3-1. Scope of the duty of disclosure

The person effecting the insurance shall, at the time the contract is concluded, make full and correct disclosure of all circumstances that are material to the insurer when deciding whether and on what conditions it is prepared to accept the insurance.

If the person effecting the insurance subsequently becomes aware that it has given incorrect or incomplete information regarding the risk, it shall without undue delay notify the insurer.

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Clause 3-1. Scope of the duty of disclosure

The provision corresponds to Cl. 24 of the 1964 Plan and the relevant Nordic Insurance Contracts Acts (Nordic ICAs). The Commentary was amended in the 2010 version. Sub-clause 1 imposes on the assured a duty to disclose all information which is material to the insurer. Accordingly, the person…

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Clause 3-2. Fraudulent misrepresentation

If the person effecting the insurance has fraudulently failed to fulfil its duty of disclosure, the contract is not binding on the insurer.

The insurer may also cancel other insurance contracts it has with the person effecting the insurance by giving fourteen days’ notice.

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Clause 3-2. Fraudulent misrepresentation

This Clause corresponds to Cl. 25 of the 1964 Plan and the relevant Nordic Insurance Contracts Acts (Nordic ICAs). The provision governs fraudulent misrepresentation. The corresponding rule in Cl. 25 of the 1964 Plan applied to both fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation. The relevant Nordic…

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Clause 3-3. Other failure to fulfil the duty of disclosure

If the person effecting the insurance has, at the time the contract is concluded, in any other way failed to fulfil its duty of disclosure, and it must be assumed that the insurer would not have accepted the insurance if the person effecting the insurance had made such disclosure as it was its duty to make, the contract is not binding on the insurer.

If it must be assumed that the insurer would have accepted the insurance, but on other conditions, it shall only be liable to the extent that it is proved that the loss is not attributable to such circumstances as the person effecting the insurance should have disclosed. Liability is limited in the same manner if the person effecting the insurance has been in breach of the duty of disclosure after the contract was concluded, unless it is proved that the loss occurred before the person effecting the insurance was able to correct the information supplied by it.

In the cases referred to in sub-clause 2, the insurer may cancel the insurance by giving fourteen days’ notice.

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Clause 3-3. Other failure to fulfil the duty of disclosure

This Clause corresponds to Cl. 26 of the 1964 Plan and the relevant Nordic Insurance Contracts Acts (Nordic ICAs). Both the threshold for invoking/triggering sanctions and the criteria for the type of sanctions triggered/invoked in the Nordic ICAs differ from the Plan's provision regarding other…

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Clause 3-4. Innocent breach of the duty of disclosure

If the person effecting the insurance has given incorrect or incomplete information without any blame attaching to it, the insurer is liable as if correct information had been given, but it may cancel the insurance by giving fourteen days’ notice.

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Clause 3-4. Innocent breach of the duty of disclosure

This Clause is identical to Cl. 27 of the 1964 Plan and corresponds to the relevant Nordic Insurance Contracts Acts. If information about the risk is incorrect or incomplete, and the person effecting the insurance is not to blame for this, the insurer is liable according to the terms of the…

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Clause 3-5. Cases where the insurer may not invoke breach of the duty of disclosure

The insurer may not plead that incorrect or incomplete information has been given if, at the time when the information should have been given, it knew or ought to have known of the matter. Nor may the insurer invoke Cl. 3-3 and Cl. 3-4 if the circumstances about which incorrect or incomplete information was given have ceased to be material to it.

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Clause 3-5. Cases where the insurer may not invoke breach of the duty of disclosure

This Clause corresponds to Cl. 28 of the 1964 Plan and the relevant Nordic Insurance Contracts Acts (Nordic ICAs). The first sentence states that the insurer loses the right to invoke incorrect or incomplete information if he knew or ought to have known the true facts at the time the contract was…

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Clause 3-6. Duty of the insurer to give notice

If the insurer becomes aware of the fact that incorrect or incomplete information has been given, the insurer shall, without undue delay and in writing, notify the person effecting the insurance of the extent to which it intends to invoke Cl. 3-2, Cl. 3-3 and Cl. 3-4. If the insurer fails to do so, it forfeits its right to invoke those provisions.

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Clause 3-6. Duty of the insurer to give notice

This Clause corresponds to Cl. 29 of the 1964 Plan and the relevant Nordic Insurance Contracts Acts (Nordic ICAs). The provision imposes on the insurer an obligation to inform the person effecting the insurance if he intends to invoke a breach of the duty of disclosure. In the corresponding…

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Clause 3-7. Right of the insurer to obtain particulars from the vessel’s classification society, etc.

The person effecting the insurance shall, at the insurer’s request, provide it with all available particulars from the classification society concerning the condition of the vessel before and during the insurance period.

If the person effecting the insurance fails to fulfil its duty under sub-clause 1, the insurer may cancel the insurance by giving fourteen days’ notice, but with effect no earlier than on arrival of the vessel at the nearest safe port, in accordance with the insurer’s instructions.

The insurer is authorised to obtain information referred to in sub-clause 1 directly from the classification society and from the relevant authorities in the country where the vessel is registered or has been through port-State control. The person effecting the insurance shall be notified no later than the time when the insurer seeks to obtain such information.

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Clause 3-7. Right of the insurer to obtain particulars from the vessel's classification society, etc.

The provision corresponds to Cl. 30 of the 1964 Plan and Cefor I.19 and PIC Cl. 5, no. 4. In shipowners’ insurance, the information held by the vessel's classification society will be of crucial importance. This is true at the time the contract is concluded and also during the period of insurance…

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