Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. O'Connor

The question for decision, one of first impression in this court, is this: Does the New York Automobile Assigned Risk • Plan of insurance, which in explicit terms provides only for prospective cancellation, abrogate the insurer’s common-law right to void a policy from its inception on the ground that it had been obtained through fraud or misrepresentation?

The facts are undisputed. In his application for insurance under the New York Automobile Assigned Risk Plan, Thomas O’Connor falsely stated that he had not been convicted of any non-vehicular offense within the preceding three-year period.…