Curran v Norwich Union Life Insurance Society

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Mr. Justice Barr
• Judgment Date: 30 October 1987
• Neutral Citation: 1987 WJSC-HC 1456
• Date: 30 October 1987
• Court: High Court

1987 WJSC-HC 1456

THE HIGH COURT

CURRAN v. NORWICH UNION LIFE INSURANCE SOCIETY

OLIVE CURRAN

PLAINTIFF

AND

NORWICH UNION LIFE INSURANCE SOCIETY

DEFENDANT

Citations:

CHARIOT INNS V ASSICURAZIONI GENERALI 1981 IR 199, 1981 ILRM 173

Synopsis:

INSURANCE

Contract

Uberrimae fides - Insured - Material information - Non-disclosure - Repudiation of liability - The plaintiff's husband suffered a sever head injury in a traffic accident in March, 1984; he was discharged from hospital in September and, at the beginning of 1985, he had good reason to believe that he had made a good recovery from his injuries as he was not under medical supervision and he was not receiving any medication - During the night of 14/15th February the plaintiff's husband had an attack of shivering and, on that morning, his doctor informed him that he had probably experienced a minor epileptic manifestation, and that he should take the doctor's prescribed medication for a year - On 16/2/85 the husband, in the course of procuring from the defendants an insurance policy, signed a declaration that:- "To the best of my knowledge and belief I am presently in good health and I am not in receipt of medical treatment" - The husband did not take the prescribed medication and the defendants issued the policy - The policy was primarily an investment scheme but it did provide some life cover - The husband died on 28/6/85 and the plaintiff claimed, as her husband's executor, payment of the moneys due on his death under the policy - The defendants repudiated liability - Owing to the nature of the policy and the fact that the husband already had a life policy issued by the defendants, it was the practice of the defendants not to seek extensive particulars of the insurer's health but to rely on a short declaration by the insurer concerning his present state of health - Held that the husband had been in breach of his duty to the defendant insurers in failing to inform them of his recent epileptic seizure, which was a material fact, and that the defendants were entitled to repudiate liability under the policy: ~Chariot Inns v. Assicurazioni Generali~ [1981] IR 199 considered - ( - Barr J. - 30/10/87)

|Curran v. Norwich Union Life Insurance Society|

.Mr. Justice Barr

Mr. Justice Barr

1 In February, 1985 William Curran, the late husband of the plaintiff, entered into a contract with the defendant Society which was primarily an investment scheme but which also provided life cover in the sum of £12,330.00 payable should the insured die during the currency of the contract and while the market value of units purchased on his behalf from monthly instalments of £70.00 payable by him to the defendant was less than the sum insured.

2 The contract was based upon a written declaration dated 16th February, 1985 and duly signed by the deceased which, inter alia, is in the following terms:-

"…to the best of my knowledge and belief I am presently in good health and I am not in receipt of medical treatment."

3 No medical examinations or investigations were envisaged by the defendant as being necessary in the ordinary course in connection with such contracts.

4 It will be observed that, unlike the detailed medical and allied information sought in most proposal forms for life insurance, a person making the declaration in question is asked only to confirm to the best of his knowledge and belief that at the time of making it he is in good health and not undergoing any medical treatment. The reasons given by Mr. Goss, the defendant's principal underwriter in Ireland, why such declarations are so limited in nature by comparison with the norm are twofold. First, the life insurance element in such contracts very rarely gives rise to claims because it is usually of comparatively short duration and is of minor practical significance to the underwriter. Secondly, such contracts are available only to persons who already hold life policies with the defendant and, therefore, proposal forms containing detailed health information would have been already submitted by them. For these reasons...