Marine insurance—uberrima fides—material misrepresentation

In the Lloyd’s of London case, the insurer sued to avoid the policy on the ground that the insured breached the duty of uberrima fides. Prior to the issuance of the policy in issue, the insured had been covered by a pollution policy with WQIS. WQIS cancelled that coverage. The insured then applied to Lloyd’s, prior to the effective date of the cancellation without disclosing that fact. On the Lloyd’s form application, the insured stated that it had no history of losses despite the fact that two of its vessels had discharged oil. It also did not disclose the poor condition of its vessels despite the fact that the poor condition of the vessels was one of the reasons WQIS had cancelled. Lloyd’s filed a motion for summary judgment which the district court granted, applying the doctrine of uberrima fides.