Misrepresentation and Concealment as affecting Policies of Insurance

It will probably conduce to clearness if I explain at the outset the order in which I propose to deal with the subject of this paper. In the first part of the paper I propose to discuss, in relation to policies of insurance, (1) the general rules of law in regard to fraud or misrepresentation in the preliminary negotiations, as invalidating contracts; and (2) the rules of law as to concealment in relation to contracts, such as contracts of insurance, in regard to which the law requires the utmost good faith on both sides. I shall also consider the effect of misrepresentation or concealment by a third party, not a party to the contract. In the second part I shall refer to the usual forms of provision in policies of life assurance, relating to the answers by the assured to the questions in the proposal, and consider their effect in modifying the rules of the common law. In this connection I shall endeavour to classify policies on well-marked lines of distinction, and will also deal with the question of the interpretation of the usual inquiries in the proposal, and the rules of construction of ambiguous or contradictory provisions in the policy or declaration.