Insurance WAEC

Utmost Good Faith

Bayani Gaba-gaba

When you buy a shirt, the seller need not warn you that it shrinks; you can inspect it and decide for yourself. Insurance is different. The insurer cannot see inside your warehouse, read your medical history or watch how you drive, so it must trust what you tell it. That trust is not left to chance. The law raises every insurance contract to a higher standard of honesty called utmost good faith, and it places a positive duty on you to volunteer every fact that matters.

In this lesson you will learn what utmost good faith means and why insurance, above almost every other contract, demands it. You will learn how to tell a material fact from an unimportant one, which facts you must disclose and which you may keep to yourself, and exactly how a policy can collapse through non-disclosure, concealment or misrepresentation. Above all you will learn the distinction examiners test every year: innocent breach against fraudulent breach, and the very different remedy each one hands the insurer.

Manufura

  1. Define utmost good faith and explain why insurance contracts demand it
  2. Explain the duty of disclosure and identify what counts as a material fact
  3. Distinguish facts that must be disclosed from those that need not be
  4. Describe the breaches of utmost good faith: non-disclosure, concealment, innocent and fraudulent misrepresentation
  5. State the effect of each breach on the validity of the policy

Takardar Darasi

Emeka applies for a health policy and, embarrassed about it, says nothing of the heart condition he was treated for last year. The insurer, knowing none of this, happily issues the cover. Eight months later Emeka is hospitalised and submits a large claim. The insurer investigates, discovers the earlier illness, and refuses to pay a single naira. Emeka is furious: he never lied, he says, he was simply never asked. Whether the insurer is right turns entirely on one principle, the one that sits underneath every proposal form you will ever sign: the duty of utmost good faith. Master it and you can predict how a dispute like Emeka's will end before a court ever does.

Nazarin Darasi

Barka da kammala darasi akan Utmost Good Faith. Yanzu da kuka bincika mahimman raayoyi da raayoyi, lokaci yayi da zaku gwada ilimin ku. Wannan sashe yana ba da ayyuka iri-iri Tambayoyin da aka tsara don ƙarfafa fahimtar ku da kuma taimaka muku auna fahimtar ku game da kayan.

Za ka gamu da haɗe-haɗen nau'ikan tambayoyi, ciki har da tambayoyin zaɓi da yawa, tambayoyin gajeren amsa, da tambayoyin rubutu. Kowace tambaya an ƙirƙira ta da kyau don auna fannoni daban-daban na iliminka da ƙwarewar tunani mai zurfi.

Yi wannan ɓangaren na kimantawa a matsayin wata dama don ƙarfafa fahimtarka kan batun kuma don gano duk wani yanki da kake buƙatar ƙarin karatu. Kada ka yanke ƙauna da duk wani ƙalubale da ka fuskanta; maimakon haka, ka kallesu a matsayin damar haɓaka da ingantawa.

  1. The principle of utmost good faith requires a proposer to: A. Disclose only the facts the insurer asks about B. Disclose voluntarily every material fact known to the proposer C. Disclose facts only after a claim is made D. Rely on the insurer to inspect the risk Answer: B
  2. A material fact is one which: A. The proposer personally considers interesting B. Would influence a prudent insurer in accepting or rating the risk C. Is written in every proposal form D. Only becomes relevant after a loss Answer: B
  3. Which of the following need NOT be disclosed to the insurer? A. A previous fire at the premises to be insured B. A previous policy cancelled by another insurer C. A newly fitted burglar alarm that reduces the risk D. A serious illness on a life proposal Answer: C
  4. A false statement of fact made honestly in the belief that it is true is: A. A fraudulent misrepresentation B. An innocent misrepresentation C. Concealment D. A warranty Answer: B
  5. Where a proposer is guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation, the insurer may: A. Avoid the policy but must return the premium B. Only reduce the claim proportionately C. Avoid the policy, refuse the claim and retain the premium D. Do nothing, as the policy is fully valid Answer: C

Tambayoyin Da Suka Wuce

Kana ka na mamaki yadda tambayoyin baya na wannan batu suke? Ga wasu tambayoyi da suka shafi Utmost Good Faith daga shekarun baya.

Tambaya 1 Rahoto

List and explain five principles of insurance.