Contract trap · Insurance
Any inaccuracy voids policy
The application or policy states that any inaccurate or incomplete answer, or failure to notify changes (new driver, renovation, occupancy, business use, mileage, health), lets the insurer void the policy from inception and keep the premium, regardless of relevance to the loss.
- Severity
- Severe
- How often it turns up
- Regular
- Holds up?
- Often void
- Clause phrases
- 19
What it looks like in a contract
Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.
In English-language contracts
- the policy will be void
- void from inception
- any misrepresentation, omission or concealment
- whether or not material
- you must tell us immediately of any change in circumstances
- we may treat this policy as if it never existed and retain the premium
- basis of the contract
- warranty
- increase in risk
- material fact
In Russian-language contracts
- сообщение заведомо ложных сведений
- страхователь обязан сообщить все известные ему обстоятельства
- существенные обстоятельства
- договор может быть признан недействительным
- страховая премия возврату не подлежит
- обязан незамедлительно уведомить об изменении
- увеличение страхового риска
- анкета страхователя
- недостоверные сведения являются основанием для отказа
Check your own contract
Paste a clause, a page or the whole document. Nothing leaves your browser: the matching runs here, on this page, against the phrases above.
Why it bites
Honest mistakes (wrong postcode, forgotten speeding ticket, unmentioned pet, dashcam 'modification') become a full denial after the loss; the burden is pushed onto the consumer and the premium is forfeited.
Is it enforceable where you are
The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.
In the UK, the Insurance Act 2015 and Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 restrict what an insurer may avoid; in the EU, the IDD and Directive 93/13 apply, and in the US, insurance is regulated state by state.
United States
Rescission requires a material misrepresentation and, in many states, intent or reliance; health coverage rescindable only for fraud/intentional misrepresentation with 30 days' notice (45 CFR 147.128).
- Cited
- 45 CFR 147.128
European Union
Germany VVG §19-22: duty limited to questions asked in text form with graduated remedies; §28 — intentional breach removes cover, gross negligence reduces it proportionally; Directive 93/13 Annex (b).
- Cited
- 93/13 Annex (b)
- Directive 93/13
- VVG §19
United Kingdom
CIDRA 2012: duty only to take reasonable care not to misrepresent; careless misrepresentation gives a proportionate remedy; avoidance with premium retained only for deliberate/reckless misrepresentation; basis-of-contract clauses abolished; Insurance Act 2015 s.11 limits reliance on unrelated terms.
- Cited
- Insurance Act 2015
Russia
ст. 944 ГК: only deliberately false statements about facts the insurer expressly asked for, burden of proof on the insurer (п. 20 Пленума ВС № 19/2024); no avoidance for facts not requested or where the contract was concluded despite an unanswered question (п. 19); ст. 959 — insurer may demand a higher premium or terminate on increased risk, refusal only for changes specified in the contract (п. 22).
- Cited
- Пленума ВС № 19/2024
- ст. 944 ГК
- ст. 959
Where this has actually happened
Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.
- Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 (UK), Schedule 1 — proportionate remedies for careless misrepresentation
- Supreme Court of Russia Plenum No. 19 (25 June 2024) paras 19-20: the insurer must prove deliberately false statements and cannot void for facts it never asked about
What to do
In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.
- Answer application questions carefully, keep a copy, and notify material changes in writing
- When challenged cite UK CIDRA 2012 proportionate remedies, Germany VVG §19/§28, US materiality and reliance requirements, RU ст. 944 ГК (insurer must prove deliberately false statements on facts it actually asked about — п. 19-20 Пленума ВС № 19/2024) and ст. 959 (only changes listed in the contract count — п. 22).
Traps that travel with it
Drafters who use one of these usually use several.