A distributor of high-value electronics purchases a commercial inland marine policy to cover its cargo in transit. The insurance contract contains a strict, written clause in which the insured guarantees that two armed guards will accompany any shipment valued over 150,000 shipment is dispatched with only one guard because the second guard was unexpectedly absent. During the transit, the delivery truck is destroyed in a severe highway collision caused entirely by another driver. Based on the legal principles of the contract, how will the insurer most likely handle the claim for the destroyed cargo?
- The insurer can void coverage and deny the claim because the guard clause is a warranty, which requires strict compliance regardless of whether the breach caused the actual loss.Cevap
- BThe insurer must pay the claim because the guard clause is a representation, and the distributor did not intentionally commit fraud on the original application.
- CThe insurer must pay the claim because, although the clause is a warranty, the absence of the second guard was not the proximate cause of the highway collision.
- DThe insurer is legally estopped from denying the claim because the collision was an unforeseeable pure risk outside the distributor's immediate control.
Cevap
The insurer can void coverage and deny the claim because the guard clause is a warranty, which requires strict compliance regardless of whether the breach caused the actual loss.
In insurance contracts, a warranty is an absolute guarantee that a specific condition will be met or maintained. Because warranties are fundamental to the insurer's agreement to take on the risk, strict compliance is required. If a warranty is breached—such as failing to provide the required number of armed guards—the insurer has the legal right to void the policy or deny coverage. This remains true even if the breach had absolutely nothing to do with the actual cause of the loss (in this case, an unrelated traffic collision).
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Warranties vs. Representations
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