A few basic fraud provisions

Brokers need to keep on their toes as their role in the provision of evidence is set to become more important after the House of Lords' decision in Medcalf.

One of the certainties as a broker is that you will, at some point, have to help clients to whom insurers have declined cover.

Insurers can do this by avoiding the policy ab initio or repudiating a claim on the basis of fraud - whether fraud at the policy inception or in the claim itself.

Brokers often have to provide evidence in relation to such fraud investigations but an important lesson can be learned from the recent decision in Medcalf v Weatherill & Another (27 June, 2002).

In this case