R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-4-10 (2026)

Effect of misstatements in application for policy

✓ current as of July 2026
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No misstatement made in procuring a policy of life insurance shall be deemed material or render the policy void unless this matter represented shall have actually contributed to the contingency or event on which the policy is to become due and payable. Whether this matter represented contributed to that contingency or event shall be a question for the jury.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1959–2021 · leading case: Ricard v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co., 324 A.2d 671 (R.I. 1974).
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Ricard v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co., 324 A.2d 671 (R.I. 1974). · cites it 3× “Ricard on his application contributed to his death and, therefore, their omission was “material” within the meaning of §27-4-10 and provided the only basis for determining whether his misstatements were “material” within th-e meaning of §27-4-10.”
Pruco Life Ins. Co. v. Wilmington Trust Co., 721 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2013). “As Jay himself admits, the statute he relies on, R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-4-10, does not apply to claims for rescission made by the insurer while the insured is alive.”
S. Farm Bureau Life Ins. v. Cowger, 748 S.W.2d 332 (Ark. 1988). “Had the legislature actually intended not to require proof of a causal connection, it could have acted to clarify its position during any one of the legislative sessions conducted since National Old Line was handed down in 1974.”
Carroll v. Jackson Nat'l Life Ins., 414 S.E.2d 777 (S.C. 1992). “580 (1986); R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-4-10 (1989). South Carolina, however, does not have *270 such a statute and this Court has not previously addressed the issue.”
Paul Revere Life Ins. v. Fish, 910 F. Supp. 58 (D.R.I. 1996). “…it has been statutorily mandated that the materiality of misstatements is a question for the jury. See RJ.Gen.Laws § 27-4-10 (1994).”
Ardente v. Stand. Fire Ins., 906 F. Supp. 2d 22 (D.R.I. 2012). · cites it 2× “147, 149 (1933) (affirming the dismissal of a bill in equity seeking payment under two life insurance policies on the grounds that the insured 'made material misstatements in procuring those policies despite R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-4-10, which provides that the materiality of such a…”
Madsen v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 156 A.2d 203 (R.I. 1959). · cites it 2× “General laws 1956, §27-4-10, provides: “No misstatement made in procuring a policy of life insurance shall be deemed material or render the policy void unless the matter thus represented shall have actually contributed to the contingency or event on which the policy is to become…”
Paradise v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins., 279 A.2d 453 (R.I. 1971). · cites it 4× “1956, (1968 Reenactment) §27-4-10 1 if the jury found any misstatements in such answers, defendant had the burden of proving by a fair preponderance of the evidence that such misstatements actually contributed to the contingency or event on which the policy was to become due and…”
Garcia v. United of Omaha Life Ins. Co. (D.R.I. 2021). · cites it 2× “1 It is important to note that the pending issue is not whether Omaha was unilaterally entitled to rescind the policy because of Mrs. Garcia’s apparent misrepresentations in her application.”
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