Not disclosing information to an insurance company?

Question

If you make a false disclosure statement to an insurance company, such as, receiving a ticket or having a previous insurance policy canceled, can an insurance company deny you compensation if you get into an accident?

Answer 1

Yes, it's called "material misrepresentation."   And they're pretty likely to find out about it, as they'll run a MVR check and CLUE report on you.  More likely, they'll uprate or cancel you before you have time to file that claim.

Answer 2

All insurance companies I know pull MVRs (motor vehicle reports) and CLUE reports (claims history) on ALL drivers listed on the policy AND some companies pull a report that shows all drivers in the household whether you reported them or not & they will ask for proof they don't live there or proof they have their own coverage.

In most states (probably all) insurance companies can cancel a policy for ANY reason in the first so many days (60 days usually).  So, it looks like it was probably a recent accident & the company felt like you were trying to hide something (or their underwriting guidelines state they do not accept any accidents in 3 yrs).  Many companies will give you the benefit of the doubt if the accident was CLOSE to 3 yrs old (like 34 or 35 months old), still if their underwriting states they can't accept any accidents, they can't.  That is the way it is.

What you need to do is to find another agent, preferably an independent agent that works with many companies that can find you one that suits your needs.  You will need to disclose the cancellation to the new agent.  Be up front with everything.  Nothing an agent can't stand more is finding out there are all sorts of things on someone's record & all the work you just did to write the policy was a waste of time.  Now, the agent has to start all over again with another company.  So, if you are completely up front FIRST, the agent can either say, sorry we can't help you or we have a company for you & write your policy where it should be written.

Answer 3

As an underwriter, we pulled reports on 100% of all applicants because we knew people lied, overlooked, or forgot their tickets all the time.  The policy was rated based on what we saw, and as far as previous insurance, documentation had to be provided with the application or it was denied up front.  

If you have an existing policy, and you are paying a premium for it, then you will be bound to that contract.  The company would not be able to deny you compensation unless you did something of an on purpose act or frauded the company.