Misrepresentation: Is It As Easy As You May Think To Establish?

Two recent decisions from the Tennessee Court of Appeals indicate that an insurer will face an uphill battle in attempting to establish the elements of a material misrepresentation defence effective to void coverage. At the very least, the following two decisions should give you pause before denying an insured's claim based on perceived misrepresentations in the application for insurance.

Williams v. Tennessee Farmers Life Reassurance Co., No. M2011-01946- COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 31, 2012), arose from the denial of death benefits under a term life insurance policy issued by Tennessee Farmers Life Reassurance Company ("Tennessee Farmers") to the decedent, Barbara Williams ("Ms. Williams"). Tony Williams and Angela Williams ("Plaintiffs") were the named beneficiaries under the policy of insurance. The relevant facts in Williams were as follows.