Marine Insurance Act, 1963
22. Representations pending negotiation of contract
(1) Every material representation
made by the assured or his agent to the insurer during the negotiations for the
contract, and before the contract is concluded, must be true If it be untrue
the insurer may avoid the contract.
(2) A representation
is material which would influence the judgment of a prudent insurer in fixing
the premium, or determining whether he will take the risk.
(3) A representation
may be either as to a matter of fact, or as to a matter of expectation or
belief.
(4) A representation
as to a matter of fact is true, if it be substantially correct, that is to say,
if the difference between what is represented and what is actually correct
would not be considered material by a prudent insurer.
(5) A representation
as to a matter of expectation or belief is true if it be made in good faith.
(6) A representation
may be withdrawn or corrected before the contract is concluded.
(7) Whether a
particular representation be material or not, is, in each case, a question of
fact.