False Statements On An Insurance Application Can Lead To A Canceled Policy
An applicant’s omission of information about the applicant’s stomach ailment, physician visits, and prescribed medication made the representations false and entitled the insurer to void the policy.
In a Cook County case, an insurance policy applicant brought a law suit against a health insurer to recover for breach of contract and have their policy reinstated after the insurer denied coverage under the policy. The insurance company rescinded the policy based on what it called misrepresentations in the application.
If a person appling for insurance believes that their answers on an application are true, there is no misrepresentation. In this case, the application answers omitted information about the applicant’s stomach ailment, physician visits, and prescribed medication. This made the representations false and entitled the insurance company to void the policy.
An insurer may void a contract for a material misrepresentation if the misrepresentation was made with actual intent to deceive or materially affected either the acceptance of the risk or the hazard assumed by the company.
Conti v. Health Care Service Corporation, — N.E.2d —-, 2007 WL 4563435 (Ill.App. 1 Dist., NO. 1-06-1203)
