Jerrier v Outsurance Insurance Company Ltd 2013 JDR 0562 (KZP) : the duty to disclose : an ongoing problem?

Abstract

The recent case of Jerrier v Outsurance Insurance Company Ltd 2013 JDR 0562 (KZP) highlights the fact that the duty to disclose is still problematic. This is so despite the cogent reasons put forward almost a decade ago by Van Niekerk for its farewell (Van Niekerk "Goodbye to the Duty of Disclosure in Insurance Law: Reasons to Rethink, Restrict, Reform or Repeal the Duty (Part 1) 2005 SA Merc LJ 150; Van Niekerk "Goodbye to the Duty of Disclosure in Insurance Law: Reasons to Rethink, Restrict, Reform or Repeal the Duty (Part 2) 2005 SA Merc LJ 323). Whether or not one agrees with the outcome of the case, the valid concern has been raised that short term insurers, rightly or wrongly, have interpreted the judgment to mean that "consumers are now obliged to report to their insurers every minor incident or scratch on their cars" failing which insurance claims might be rejected.