A motor policyholder has lost his bid to have a claim denial overturned after arguing he failed to tell his insurer about a driving-related good behaviour bond because of his learning disability.  

His claim last year after an at-fault crash with another driver was rejected by Auto & General on the basis he misrepresented his driving history when buying the policy.

He had answered “no” to questions about licence restrictions imposed in the previous five years and one asking if he had “reached maximum licence demerit points in the past three years or taken a good behaviour bond”.

The claimant had incurred 13 demerit points between January and August 2022, and he undertook a one-year good behaviour bond from April 2023 after a court hearing for a “careless driving of a motor vehicle” offence was adjourned.

He told the insurer he took the bond to avoid a licence suspension.

The claimant said he misinterpreted the policy questions due to his ADHD and dyscalculia – a learning disorder that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers.  

He said he believed he had not reached the maximum number of demerit points and made an honest mistake.  

In a dispute ruling, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority accepts that at policy inception, the man had reached the demerit maximum and was subject to the good behaviour bond.  

By not informing the insurer, he misrepresented his driving history, it says.

“His disability may have affected his ability to understand a question based on numbers, as supported by his available medical information,” the authority said.

“However, the available information confirms he was aware of his court attendance and his election to enter a good behaviour bond rather than incur a licence suspension period.”  

The ruling says Auto & General would deem a person an unacceptable risk if they “accumulated the maximum demerit points allowable in the last three years and were under 25 years of age (as the complainant was).

“As the insurer has established it would not have incepted the policy if the complainant had correctly disclosed his driving history, it would not have been on risk when the claim event occurred. It is therefore fair for the insurer to decline the claim.”

Click here for the ruling.