A life insurance policy delivered in Buffalo provides that the policy and the attached copy of the application constitute the entire contract. Some of the insured's answers on that application later prove inaccurate. Under New York law, those statements are treated as:

Why B is correct

Under N.Y. Ins. Law §3203(a)(4), the entire contract consists of the policy plus the application attached to it when issued, and under §3204 the statements in that application are treated as representations rather than warranties, absent fraud. An inaccurate answer therefore does not automatically void the policy; it gives the insurer a basis to contest the policy if the misstatement is material, subject to the incontestability limit. The policyholder may request a copy of the application within 15 days after issue, or receive it as part of the policy.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) Treating the answers as warranties would void the policy for any error, however minor; New York rejects that harsh common-law rule in favor of representations.
• C) The application is part of the entire contract and cannot be disregarded; it is precisely the document the insurer may rely on when contesting the policy.
• D) Estoppel is not the classification New York law assigns to application answers; §3204 makes those statements representations.

Memory hook

Policy plus application = entire contract; application answers are representations, not warranties.