State RegulationsMA specificDifficulty 1/5
An insured misstated his age on the application for an individual accident and health policy. Under the optional misstatement-of-age provision in M.G.L. c. 175, § 108(3)(b), how is the error corrected?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why C is correct
The misstatement-of-age provision in M.G.L. c. 175, § 108(3)(b) supplies an equitable correction rather than a forfeiture: when age was misstated, the insurer adjusts the benefits to the amount the premiums actually paid would have purchased at the correct age. The policy is neither voided nor denied; it simply pays what the true age would have justified. This keeps a clerical or honest error from destroying coverage while preventing the insured from profiting from the misstatement.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) Voiding the policy with a premium refund defeats the provision's purpose, which is proportional adjustment rather than rescission.
- B) A blanket denial is not the remedy; the misstatement-of-age provision calls for recalculation of benefits, not forfeiture of the claim.
- D) Honoring the misstated age would reward the error; the benefit must match what the correct age would have purchased under M.G.L. c. 175, § 108(3)(b).
Memory hook
Wrong age, right math: benefits shrink or grow to what the true age bought.