By S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors · Published 19 July 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice
About this article: A general explainer prepared by S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors on a recurring type of dispute. It does not report a specific judgment or order, names no parties and gives no case citation, so it should not be cited as authority. Law and practice change; please verify against the current statute and primary sources before relying on it.
An insurer that rejects a claim must act on proper grounds, and a policyholder can complain of deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 if a valid claim is wrongly repudiated. Consumer commissions and the Supreme Court have said that an insurer cannot rely on a technicality alone where the loss is genuine and covered, and that a repudiation must be based on the terms of the policy and the facts.
A surveyor's report, which an insurer commissions, carries significant weight but is not binding, and a commission can depart from it with reasons. Where the insurer's own surveyor has assessed the loss as genuine and the repudiation rests only on a minor discrepancy, for example in a declared value, the repudiation is more open to challenge.
The position is different where there is established fraud or deliberate misrepresentation or a breach of a condition that goes to the root of the contract, and the policy, the proposal form and the principle of utmost good faith are examined. Interest and compensation may be awarded where a claim is wrongly rejected. The result turns on the policy wording and the evidence.