What Is a “misrepresentation of a Material Fact”?
Posted March 28, 2017Filing claims with insurance companies are meant to be confusing. The insurance company benefits when someone doesn’t understand the entirety of the form they are filling out or the information necessary to complete the form. In some cases, out of confusion, someone may omit information that would have either denied them a policy in the first place or deny coverage of a claim that is placed after the fact.
Misrepresentation of a material fact
These omissions could be seen as trite, unimportant and small, however, if found out, the errors could cost you your policy and your coverage. The insurance company could state that you provided misrepresentation of a material fact. Any time information is concealed when working through binding legal documents and agreements, it dampens the ability of the document and agreement to be upheld.
Fraudulent Claim and Burden of Proof
If the insurance company is claiming that you have made a false claim against a policy, then it is up to the insurance company to show proof. This means they cannot simply deny your claim because they feel that you were fraudulent in your details about the loss. They have the burden of proof to show that anything was falsified.
During this process, however, the insurance company cannot cause an unreasonable delay in paying out their insured. They still need to act in good faith while researching each claim. By placing delays on their payout, the insurance company actually has the opportunity to make a fortune off of the investment of the money that would have been owed to you had your claim processed in a normal and standard amount of time.
Oklahoma Insurance Bad Faith Lawyers
The Bennett Law Firm works so that you know your rights when working with insurance companies. If you find yourself facing fighting an insurance company for misrepresentation of material facts and fraudulent claims, contact lawyers that understand your needs.