The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled an insured's misrepresentations about the status of his vessel voided his freshly reinstated  insurance policy.

The Case

On May 25, 2018, at 7:28 a.m., Alfredo Quintero called Geico Marine Insurance Co. to “pay his boat policy.” Geico informed Quintero that his last policy payment for his 2008 Renegade runabout was due May 5 and asked him if he wanted to reinstate his policy. Quintero said he did.

Before taking payment, Geico askedQuintero some questions regarding the status of the vessel and Quintero responded that it had no damage, that it was “sound and seaworthy,” that the last time he physically saw the vessel was “every day,” and that the vessel was then in his house.

At the end of the conversation, Geico confirmed the policy was reinstated and backdated to May 5.

On the same day at 2:43 p.m, about seven hours after Quintero called Geico to reinstate his insurance policy, he reported the theft of the vessel and trailer to the Broward County Sheriff's Office. The same day at approximately 6:30 p.m., Quintero called Geico to make a claim under the policy for the stolen vessel with a date of loss of May 25.

Geico acknowledged Quintero's claim and began an investigation the same day.