Life & Health · Chapter 3 · Contract Law
Material Misrepresentation
Definition
A false statement in the application. Under F.S. 627.409 it defeats recovery only if it is fraudulent, or material to the acceptance of the risk or the hazard assumed, or the insurer in good faith would not have issued the policy at all, at that rate, or in that amount had it known the truth.
Exam tip
⚠️ Florida trap: the misstatement does not have to be intentional. An honest, innocent wrong answer still lets the insurer rescind if it was material or would have changed the underwriting decision (F.S. 627.409(1)) — but the insurer carries that burden, and only within the 2-year contestable period.
Easy to confuse with
These are what this term gets tested against — if you can't tell them apart cold, drill the contrast.
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