Court upholds avoidance of insurance policy

Simon Garrett and Layla Todd, of CMS, report on a UK Commercial Court ruling on failure to disclose a pattern of cargo fires breaching duty of fair presentation

Following a failure by an insured to advise insurers of a series of fires affecting its scrap metal cargoes, the insurer was entitled to avoid cover on the basis of a breach of the duty of fair presentation under section 3 of the Insurance Act 2015. The decision in Cometsambre SA v Lloyd's Insurance Co SA [2026] EWHC 1837 (Comm) provides useful guidance on several aspects of the duty of fair presentation under the 2015 Act, including presumed knowledge, materiality, notice, waiver and inducement.