In May 2011, we reported on the UK Government’s adoption of the Law Commission’s draft Bill on Consumer Insurance (Pre-Contract Disclosure and Misrepresentations). (See our previous post here). The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Bill (the Bill) is currently progressing through Parliament.

One of the aims of the Bill is to replace the duty to volunteer material information to an insurer with a duty on consumers to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation during pre-contractual negotiations. This Bill only applies to consumers.

In September the House of Lords appointed a Special Public Bill Committee to scrutinise the Bill and in late October, the Committee conducted its final oral evidence session. The Committee has also received evidence from a number of sources including the Financial Services Authority, the Financial Ombudsman Service and a number of leading academics and former members of the judiciary.

Following the conclusion of the Committee’s evidence gathering, the Bill is to be reported to the House of Lords before a Third Reading in the House of Lords, after which it will progress to the House of Commons for further scrutiny. We will continue to report on the Bill’s passage through Parliament.