Law for Business 12th Edition by James Barnes,Terry Dworkin,Eric Richards

Exercise 8

Carl Brown spoke to an insurance agent about obtaining automobile liability insurance for a Chevrolet Cavalier for which his stepson, who lived with Brown, would be the primary driver. Brown needed to obtain a new insurance policy for the car because the insurance company which had insured the stepson planned to cancel the stepson's insurance due to his poor driving record. (His license had been suspended more than once.) Brown informed the insurance agent that the stepson had accumulated more than one speeding ticket in the previous five years. The agent told Brown that the insurance on the stepson alone would cost more than $1,000 per year. However, in order to save Brown money, the agent filled out an application for insurance which misrepresented that Brown's wife was the only other person in Brown's household over the age of 12 and that no operator of the Cavalier had any moving violations or had had his or her license suspended within the previous five years. The policy contained a provision in which the applicant certified that all statements in the application were true and correct. Brown signed the application without reading it. Kemper Insurance issued Brown an automobile liability policy for the Cavalier based on the false application. It is not disputed that the insurer would not have issued the policy had it known that the stepson was the primary driver of the car. Later, the stepson was involved in an automobile accident that resulted in a fatality. Kemper denied coverage under Brown's automobile liability policy based upon the fraudulent application and sought to rescind the policy. Brown insists that, because he had disclosed all material information to the insurance agent, he cannot be charged with the agent's fraud in obtaining insurance from Kemper and the policy cannot be rescinded. Should the knowledge of the agent be imputed to Kemper?