In a recent case, the court held that a misrepresentation made
during the policy period was implicitly repeated during the renewal
process four months later. In doing so, various general points were
considered by the court both in terms of insurers' right to
avoid and also regarding the duties owed by the broker where
misrepresentation and non-disclosure points have been successfully
taken by insurers.
The insured (Synergy) provided laundry services to the NHS.
Synergy was insured for material damage and business interruption
for the years 2005/06, and renewed for the years 2006/07. Following
an insurers' risk assessment in 2005, Synergy confirmed by
letter that work to install an intruder alarm would be completed by
the end of December. This message was conveyed in a letter written
on or around 8 December 2005 but not presented to insurers until 28
December 2005. In fact, the alarm was not installed by the time of
a fire in February 2007. Insurers were never informed
