Supreme Court determines that an insurer can set aside a settlement of a personal injury claim even if, at the time of settlement, the insurer suspected fraud by the claimant.

In Hayward v Zurich Insurance Company plc [2016] UKSC 48, the Supreme Court held that the insurer, Zurich, which had settled a personal injury claim by the claimant, Mr Hayward, despite suspecting fraud on the part of the claimant, was entitled to set aside the settlement on the later discovery of proof of fraud. Zurich did not have to prove that it settled the claim because it believed that Mr Hayward’s misrepresentations about the extent of his injuries were true. Zurich simply had to show that it had been influenced by the misrepresentations in agreeing the settlement.