Premier Warranty Case

The claimant had given inaccurate answers in its Premier Guarantee proposal form. The court was asked to consider whether, in these circumstances, the defendant insurer was liable to the claimant under the policy for losses caused from the insolvency of a builder. Akenhead J held that the insurer was not liable, as the basis of the contract clause included in the proposal form, required answers to be true to the best of the claimant’s knowledge or belief. On the facts before the judge, the error of the claimant in identifying the wrong builder was innocent, but the claimant knew or ought to have known that the wrong builder had been identified. (Genesis Housing Association Ltd v Liberty Syndicate Management Ltd and others [2012] EWHC 3105.)