A special feature of vertical power MOSFETs, in general, is the inbuilt body diode which could eliminate the need of having to use additional anti-parallel diodes for current freewheeling in industrial inverter applications: this, clearly, subject to their demonstration of an acceptable level of reliability. Recent improvements in Silicon Carbide (SiC) power MOSFET device manufacturing technology has resulted in their wider commercial availability with different voltage and current ratings and from various manufacturers. Hence, it is essential to perform characterisation of its intrinsic body diode. This paper presents the reliability assessment of body diodes of latest generation discrete SiC power MOSFETs within a 3-phase 2-level DC-to-AC inverter representing realistic operating conditions for power electronic applications.