Not many business insurance buyers are aware that CCJ’s (County Court Judgements) can adversely affect your insurance. We often hear ‘what have CCJ’s to do with insurance ?
To see why, let’s start from the beginning.
When an insurance policy is taken out, one of the standard questions the insurer asks is whether the company, or any of the directors, partners or principals, on whose behalf you are making the application, have had any previous Count Court Judgements (CCJ’s) even if settled.
Insurers put great emphasis on this question as it informs them of the business risk and if it’s answered incorrectly, the insurer could deem this as a non disclosure or misrepresentation of the question.
What does this mean ?
If a non disclosure is discovered, either inadvertently or purposefully, say during a claim investigation process, the insurer has the right to:
1. refuse to pay a claim
2. invalidate or void the policy outright (which ultimately means the policy was never in force).
It is at the stage when a claim is lodged by an insured that this is usually discovered (i.e., the non disclosure) but by then it is unfortunately too late.
There is therefore, a direct link between a CCJ and insurance and it’s important that all business owners, as well as private individuals, are fully aware of this. Failure to correctly answer this question (or any questions for that matter) could lead to problems down the line.
If you need any help with your Business Insurance, or are having difficulties in arranging insurance due to a CCJ, please call us on 0207 731 3700 or Email Us as we can usually assist.
