In two seminal opinions, Wilkie v Auto-Owners Ins. Co. and Rory v Continental Ins. Co., the Michigan Supreme Court emphatically confirmed that insurance contracts are to be enforced by the courts “as written.”  The parties to an insurance contract remain free to waive or modify the terms of the contract by mutual consent, but one party cannot demand enforcement of an insurance contract, contrary to the mutually agreed terms, based upon that party’s unilateral belief […]

The Michigan Supreme Court has discarded the 36-year-old doctrine that once prevented insurance companies from denying claims based on fraudulent statements made in an insured’s application.  Previously, the law stated that an insurer could not deny liability in the event of fraud found on an insured’s application if the fraud would have been “easily ascertainable” by the insurer.  Now, fraud, if proven, can serve as a complete bar to recovery.  Insurance […]