An insurance broker who provides a sworn affidavit about the scope of insurance cover to a client, knowing it will be used in connection with litigation involving third parties, owes a duty of care to those third parties who foreseeably rely on the affidavit. An unqualified assertion by a person with expected personal knowledge about the scope of insurance cover is a representation of fact, not opinion, and is falsified if the policy in fact provides cover. A representation in an affidavit provided to a client for use in finalising a commercial dispute, made after settlement and not in the course of court proceedings, is made 'in trade or commerce' for the purposes of s 52 of the Trade Practices Act.
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