Doctrine of Utmost Good Faith

The meaning of Doctrine of utmost most good faith is “each party to a proposed contract is under a duty to disclose to the other all information which would influence his decision to enter into the contract, whether such information is requested or not”. In simpler terms, it is mean that the both the parties must reveal all information that would manipulate the decision related to the contract.
Failure to disclose material information gives the other party the right to avoid the contract

In Insurance contract, the insured has the greater responsibility to disclose related information compared to the insurer because the insured have more knowledge regarding the subject matter of the insurance.


Insurance contract is based upon mutual trust and confidence between the insured and the insurer. That’s why insurance contract is said to be uberrimae fidei, or “the utmost good faith”. The case related to the utmost good faith is discussed in Goh Chooi Leng v. Public Life Co. Ltd. [1964]. In this case, the contract is said to be voidable because material information was not disclosed.