Alignment Chiropractic, P.C. v Travelers Home & Mar. Ins. Co., 2020 NY Slip Op 50994(U)(App. Term 2d Dept. 2020)
“A misrepresentation is material if the insurer would not have issued the policy had it known the facts misrepresented. To establish materiality as a matter of law, the insurer must present documentation concerning its underwriting practices, such as underwriting manuals, bulletins, or rules pertaining to similar risks, that show that it would not have issued the same policy if the correct information had been disclosed in the application” (Interboro Ins. Co. v Fatmir, 89 AD3d 993, 994 [2011] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted])”
“Upon a review of the record, we find that defendant failed to establish as a matter of law that it would not have issued the policy in question. Consequently, defendant did not demonstrate, prima facie, that the misrepresentation by plaintiff’s assignor was material”
It is so interesting how the fraudulent procurement defense transformed itself into the material misrepresentation defense”
