CR23
• Funeral Insurance – fraud by proposer

In another matter the policyholder insured his father, amongst other family members. A proposal form in the name of his father was completed. No disclosure was made of the fact that the father had been treated for tuberculosis prior to signing the proposal form. This fact was only discovered after payment had been made by the insurer on a claim by the policyholder. When the matter was further investigated the policyholder eventually acknowledged that, on the advice of an independent broker, he himself had completed the proposal form and forged his father’s signature. On that basis the claim, being fraudulent, had been wrongly met by the insurer and the dispute was really one for the recovery by the insurer of the payments made by it. The insurer was, however, prepared to credit the purported policyholder with the aggregate of the premiums that had been received by it in respect of the abortive policy. That is the correct view since the policy, even though there were other lives assured on it, was cancelled in toto due to the fraudulent signature.

PMN