Southern Insurance Company V. Workers Compensation Appeals Board

In Southern Insurance Company v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, 11 Cal.App.5th 961 (May 10, 2017), the Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District ruled that an insurer may rescind a workers' compensation insurance policy, and is not barred from doing so by California Insurance Code section 650. The Court annulled the workers' compensation appeals board's ("appeals board") decision that the policy could not be rescinded, and remanded with instructions to determine whether the insurer was entitled to, and did, rescind the policy.

In 2008, EJ Distribution Corporation ("EJ") applied for workers' compensation insurance, indicating in its application that EJ's routes are under 50 miles and EJ's employees do not travel out of state. In addition, EJ's agent prepared an online application, which listed the business as "local hauling," indicated the employees do not travel out of state, and indicated the radius of travel is not greater than 200 miles.