Firstly the act applies to consumers and all business with a turnover of less than three million euro per annum which will cover all private policyholder purchasers of insurance and a large proportion of business concerns. It is expected that this act which has been signed into Law will be commenced in September 2020.



Purchase and Renewal of Insurance



The greatest change is to what was known as the duty of Utmost Good Faith. If an insurance company does not now ask a specific question the consumer does not have to provide information. Up to now there was a duty on the consumer to provide some information that was not asked for ie that the homeowner or someone in the home had a criminal conviction. This enabled insurers to deny claims where they became aware of information after the fact that they said should have been disclosed. This put the consumer in a difficult position when taking out Insurance in that they had to make a judgement on what facts were material and what facts were not.



The questions asked by the Insurer must be in a plain and understandable form.



The consumer must respond to any questions asked honestly and with reasonable care.



If the consumer gives incorrect information the outcome will depend on whether the information was given innocently, negligently or fraudulently. A copy of the application must be provided to the consumer. 



The Consumer has 14 working days (Cooling off period) in which withdraw from the contract. You only pay for the days you were on cover.



The Insurance Company must now annually provide consumers with a list of premiums paid and claims paid in the last 5 years on the policy.



Claims Issues



Insurers must engage meaningfully and promptly with consumers in resolving their claims.



Insurers shall pay that part of a claim that can be quantified within a reasonable time.



Insurance Companies will now only be able to withhold 5% of a claim up to €40,000.00 until repairs are complete and 10% over €40,000.00.



Where an insurer is dealing with a third party claim such as under a motor policy they have to inform the customer about the outcome of the claim.



False or Misleading Information given by you in the course of a claim can result in a refusal to pay your claim.



Fraud on a claim does not affect other claims on the policy that are not affected by the fraud.



The Insurance Company can terminate a policy from the date of submission of a fraudulent claim.



Where a contract contains a clause excluding cover for a criminal act or intentional act or omission the exclusion applies only to a person who committed the act or abetted or consented to the act. So an innocent family member who had no involvement should not suffer due to the act.



If a policyholder breaches a policy condition, cover is only suspended during the period of the breach. Your fire alarm was not working for a period and there is a condition on the policy stating you have to have a working alarm at all times. You get the alarm fixed and a fire happens. The insurance company cannot deny your claim on the basis you did not have a working alarm at all times. If it was working at the time of the Fire cover would apply. It should also be noted that if the alarm was not working at the time of the Fire such as due to a power cut or battery failure the Insurance company would not likely be allowed to deny a claim on grounds of reasonableness.

Insurance company cannot use a breach not associated with a claim to deny a claim. Example If you have a burglar alarm condition on your policy and a fire starts in your TV, the Insurance company cannot use the fact that your alarm was not working to deny your fire claim.

You can now take a claim against a third party by making a claim directly against their insurance company if the other party , dies, is insolvent or a court thinks its fair.

Example 1. You are involved in a motor accident and the other driver refuses to co operate or to report the claim to their insurer. You took his Insurance details at the scene of the accident or get it from the Gardai. You can contact his insurer and if they refuse to co operate you can sue them directly if a court thinks its fair.

Example 2. You employed a building Contractor to undertake work on your property. The builder causes damage to the property and then goes into Liquidation with the job unfinished. You can contact that builders Insurer and seek details of the coverage which they have to provide. You can then go after that Insurer directly for your loss and damage.

Delay in Notifying a claim will not of itself allow an Insurer to refuse to deal with your claim. They will now have to show that the delay caused prejudice to their position also. 

Subrogation 

It will not be possible for your insurer to sue a family member or co habitant resulting from an incident that causes damage. 

Example. A member of the policyholders family causes a fire due to a cigarette being thrown carelessly in a bin. The Insurer will not be able to sue the family member in negligence.

Insurable Interest

Under previous law if your name was not on the policy you could not claim. Now if you can show an interest in the property or indeed if you can show that you expected to have an interest in the property in the future you may be able to claim even if you are not listed as an insured person.