material facts

1. Any important piece of information that a person seeking insurance must disclose to the insurer to enable the insurer to decide whether or not to accept the insurance and to calculate the premium. What is and what is not material may have to be decided by a court of law, but very often it is obvious. While a person cannot be penalized for not revealing facts that are not known or cannot reasonably be expected to be known, an insurance contract can become void if the facts have been deliberately concealed from the insurer if they could have influenced the acceptance of the risk, the premium charged, or the exceptions made.

2. Relevant information about a company that must be made public in its prospectus, if it is seeking a flotation on a stock exchange.

3. Any information that could be provided by a witness in court proceedings and could influence the decision of the court.