Parker v NRMA

In *Parker v NRMA* [1993] NSWCA 205, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered a dispute between Mr Parker and the NRMA. Mr Parker had been a member of the NRMA and had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. He sought to claim indemnity from the NRMA under his policy of insurance. The NRMA denied liability, asserting that Mr Parker had breached a condition of the policy by failing to disclose material facts.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether Mr Parker had breached the duty of disclosure owed to the NRMA by failing to disclose that he had previously been involved in a motor vehicle accident where he was at fault. The Court was required to determine the scope of the duty of disclosure under the relevant insurance legislation and the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), and whether the non-disclosure of the prior accident was a breach of that duty, thereby entitling the NRMA to avoid liability under the policy.

The Court of Appeal, applying the principles of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), found that Mr Parker had a duty to disclose all matters that were known to him and which a reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to know were relevant to the insurer's decision whether to accept the risk and on what terms. The Court held that the previous accident, where Mr Parker was at fault, was a matter that a reasonable person would have considered relevant to the NRMA's assessment of the risk. Consequently, Mr Parker's failure to disclose this fact constituted a breach of his duty of disclosure.

The Court of Appeal allowed the NRMA's appeal, setting aside the decision of the primary judge. The Court ordered that the NRMA was entitled to avoid liability under the policy of insurance due to Mr Parker's non-disclosure of a material fact.