SOUTHERN ROCK INSURANCE CO LTD v HAFEEZ

[2017] CSOH 127, Court of Session, Outer House, Lady Paton, 10 October 2017

Insurance (motor) - Presentation of the risk - Misrepresentation - Whether assured had misrepresented residence address - Right of insurers to avoid policy - Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 - Road Traffic Act 1988, sections 151 and 152

Hadar Hafeez insured his Ford Fiesta in March 2015 on third party, fire and theft terms. When he applied for insurance he stated that his address was in Giffnock. Under the policy he was the only person entitled to drive the car. On 25 January 2016 his teenage brother, Hussain, took the keys to the car without permission: Hussain crashed into three parked cars causing damage to each of them. The owners of the damaged vehicles obtained a judgment against Hussain and submitted claims against the insurers under section 151 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, under which a motor insurer is required to satisfy a judgment against the driver of the vehicle whether or not that driver was insured under the policy. The insurers sought a declaration under section 152 of the 1988 Act that they were entitled to avoid the policy for deliberate or reckless misrepresentation in that he lived in Glasgow and not Giffnock, and that this made a substantial difference to the premium.