Justice Barbara Jaffe
Plaintiffs sought summary judgment against insurers Allstate and Pruco in the amount of the life insurance policies they issued to decedent Korkhova. Both insurers moved for an order dismissing the complaint against it and declaring the policy void ab initio claiming defendants Perchikov and Shkolnik conspired to persuade decedent to obtain the policies, then name them as primary beneficiaries and murdered her for the proceeds. The court noted both policies contained incontestability clauses providing the insurer could not contest the policy once it was in force during the insured’s life for two years from the issue date. It ruled Pruco’s and Allstate’s fraud defenses were barred as they could have investigated and ascertained the veracity of the various alleged misrepresentations during the two-year contestability period. Hence, the court found the policies were not void ab initio. Further, it concluded defendants failed to cite authority for the proposition that a life insurance policy procured as part of a scheme by the beneficiary to murder the insured and collect the proceeds, absent participation in the scheme by the insured was void ab initio or not barred by an incontestability provision, denying insurers’ motions.
