Expert: Charlie Barone - 4/3/2009

Question
Good afternoon,

I was involved in a hit and run car accident which caused damages to my vehicle and resulted in a total loss. Filed a claim with my insurance company and was denied. They stated because i did not inform them that i had two moving violations within the past three years that i committed misrepresentation. There was no misrepresentation just information i had not recalled at the time. And because of this info my premiums were not correct. When applying for this insurance that stated that it was their procedure to obtain my mvr report.  Therefore do they have legitimate cause to deny my claim?


Answer
Unfortunately, the insurance policy contains language that says you must be truthful in answering their questions and any omissions on your part, whether unintentional or the result of a lapse of memory, will void coverage. Whether or not the insurance company got access to your MVR report won't affect their decision to cover your loss. In cases such as yours, the insurance industry is always covered based on the policy language. You may submit a complaint to your state's insurance department, but I wouldn't hold out much hope that they will force your company to change their decision.

While I have no reason to suspect your excuse, a policyholder claiming they forgot to include past violations or accidents in an application does not present a good argument. Otherwise, everyone with a bad record would do it.