Did you submit an insurance claim in Ohio that was denied due to innocent misrepresentation?

If you or a family member secured a life, auto, disability or other insurance policy and subsequently underwent a life change that you did not report to the insurance company, you could have unfairly been denied coverage when you made a claim.

Among the insurance companies in Ohio that might be refusing insurance claims due to innocent misrepresentation are Allstate, Nationwide, Progressive, Protective Life, State Farm and others.

From the insurance company’s perspective, innocent misrepresentation often is viewed as a concealed fact or as a fraudulent misrepresentation, which the insurance company uses as basis to deny a claim. If this technicality leads to a denial of your claim, the money you paid toward your premiums goes to waste; it’s as if you never had insurance at all.

Innocent Misrepresentation Denials in Ohio

Insurance companies in Ohio are under investigation for allegedly denying claims made by customers who unintentionally make a misrepresentation when they purchase their insurance policies.

Examples of innocent misrepresentation that could result in denied insurance claims include:

• You reported to the insurance company that your daily mileage for work was under 30 miles, but you have since taken a new position that is a farther drive.
• You (or a deceased family member) signed a document that indicated you were in good health at the time of the life insurance application, but you had been taking blood pressure medication or some other medication that effectively treated another common malady.
• You told the insurance company that your vehicle generally was kept at your house, but you allowed your child to take it to college.
• You told the insurance company that the car was titled in your name, but it was titled in your wife’s name instead.

Life Insurance Innocent Misrepresentation

In some cases, life insurance claims might be denied due to innocent misrepresentation. Most life insurance applications ask a multitude of questions regarding the current health of the applicant. If the life insurance policyholder dies within two years of securing the policy, the insurance company will likely investigate to ensure all of the questions asked at the time the policy was requested were answered truthfully.

A person might commit innocent misrepresentation on a life insurance application if a question is confusing or if the person is suffering from afflictions that seem to defy categorization among the choices on the application.

When a policyholder dies after making an innocent misrepresentation, the policy is not necessarily rescinded. If a life insurance claim is denied due to innocent misrepresentation, those trying to collect on the policy could benefit from speaking with an experienced lawyer to contest the denial. In many cases, the policy must be paid out unless the insurance company can prove that they would have denied initial coverage had they known the information that was subject to innocent misrepresentation.

If you live in Ohio and have experienced any denied insurance claims due to innocent misrepresentation, you could benefit from speaking with an experienced lawyer regarding your options.