MOORE-McQUILLAN v Government Insurance Office of New South Wales

The Court of Appeal of New South Wales heard an appeal concerning a dispute between Ms. Moore-McQuillan and the Government Insurance Office of New South Wales (GIO). The core of the disagreement related to the GIO's refusal to pay a claim for a motor vehicle accident.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the GIO was entitled to repudiate the insurance policy on the grounds of material non-disclosure or misrepresentation by the insured, Ms. Moore-McQuillan, at the time of entering into the contract of insurance. Specifically, the court had to determine if the information withheld or misrepresented was of such a nature that it would have influenced the GIO's decision to enter into the contract or the terms upon which it would have done so.

The Court of Appeal found that the GIO had not established that the non-disclosure or misrepresentation was material. Applying the principles of insurance law, the court held that the test for materiality is whether the undisclosed or misrepresented fact would have influenced the judgment of a reasonable insurer in deciding whether to accept the risk and, if so, at what premium. The court concluded that the evidence did not demonstrate that the GIO would have acted differently had the full information been provided. Consequently, the GIO was not entitled to repudiate the policy.