Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Waiver definition

What does Waiver mean? In practice, waiver describes a party choosing not to insist on strict contractual performance, thereby giving up, temporarily or permanently, a contractual right or remedy. It is a descriptive, case law concept used across contract law and procedure in England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Key features: - Express or implied by conduct, but intention must be clear and unequivocal. - May occur before or after breach. After breach, not exercising a right to terminate is often called an election or affirmation (a waiver of the termination right). - A one‑off indulgence usually suspends strict performance and can be withdrawn...

Waiver and estoppel in non‑consumer insurance: underwriting and claims‑handling, fair presentation and proposal questions; subrogation; AI placement; warranties, conditions and reservation of rights; delegated authority

Published by a LexisNexis Insurance & Reinsurance expert

Practice notes

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This Practice Note explores waivers in the context of insurance underwriting and claims-handling. Although it chiefly focuses on the law of waiver for a ‘non-consumer insurance contract’ (as defined in section 1 of the Insurance Act 2015 (IA 2015)), it also distils principles from case law concerning a ‘consumer insurance contract’ (as defined in section 1 of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 (CI(DR)A 2012))...

Waiver during the underwriting process

The duty of fair presentation

IA 2015 introduced a duty on the insured to give a fair presentation of the risk to the insurer in relation to a ‘non-consumer insurance contract’. In short, this means the insured must either:

disclose to the insurer ‘every material circumstance which the insured knows or ought to know’; or
‘failing that, disclosure which gives the insurer sufficient information to put a prudent insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries for the purpose of revealing those material circumstances’

A circumstance is material ‘if it would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in determining whether to take the risk and, if so, on what terms’. In light of limb 1) above, the...

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Mark Pring

Reed Smith LLP

Mark is a London-based partner in Reed Smith's Insurance Recovery Group, a market-leading team of coverage experts operating internationally who are committed to providing support only to insured policyholders. Mark has had extensive experience, for nearly 30 years, in handling high-value, multi-jurisdictional insurance and other commercial disputes (including cross-border litigation and arbitration proceedings). In the insurance context, that experience has covered a range of non-marine and marine risks - including professional indemnity, financial institutions, directors' and officers' liability, property, energy and construction risks. Mark's practice also increasingly involves "risk management" work, including advising on corporate governance matters, reviewing anti-corruption policies and procedures and conducting reviews of insurance arrangements. Having previously lived and worked in the region, Mark continues to work closely with clients from, and investors into, Middle East jurisdictions. He has also developed a strong reputation for assisting...

Eleanor Ruiz

Reed Smith LLP

Year of Qualified: England & Wales - 2014 and Hong Kong - 2017 Eleanor specializes in complex commercial disputes, insurance recovery and insolvency-related disputes, including professional negligence claims. She represents a broad range of clients, including liquidators, investment and retail banks, corporations, insurance companies and brokers. Eleanor trained and qualified at Reed Smith in London in the Global Commercial Disputes Group, handling general commercial disputes and insurance recovery matters. In 2016 she moved to Hong Kong, where she joined a specialist investigative dispute resolution practice and qualified as a solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong. There she worked on insolvencies being litigated in the Hong Kong courts, including professional negligence claims involving directors, auditors and other professional service providers. Eleanor returned to Reed Smith in London in 2019, re-joining the Global Commercial Disputes Group. Eleanor was seconded to one of the UK's...

Claudia Gwinn

Reed Smith LLP

Claudia Gwinn is currently a trainee in Reed Smith's Global Commercial Disputes Group, having joined the firm in February 2023....

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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