Insurance Law and the Financial Ombudsman Service
12
FRAUD/PROOF OF LOSS
WHAT CONSTITUTES A FRAUD
12.1
The Fraud Act 20061 defines fraud in the criminal law, although it does not seem to apply to the civil law. It is not mentioned in any relevant civil case, nor by the FOS, and as it post-dates both the most significant case law and all the FOS examples relating to fraud, it will not be mentioned further for the purpose of this discussion. The test of fraud in a general civil context was laid down by the House of Lords in Twinsectra v Yardley,2 namely whether the conduct was dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people and the perpetrator himself realised that by those standards, his conduct was dishonest.