In the case of Cable v. United States Life Insurance Company, 1903, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether an insurance policy could be voided due to misrepresentation or concealment by the insured party. The plaintiff, Mr. Cable had taken out a life insurance policy on his wife and named himself as beneficiary. After her death, he sought to collect on this policy but was denied by the insurer who claimed that Mrs.Cable's health condition had been misrepresented at the time of application for coverage. The court ruled in favor of United States Life Insurance Company stating that if there were any material misrepresentations or concealments made during application process which influenced underwriting decision then it would render contract null and void even if such information did not directly contribute towards cause of death. This ruling set a precedent emphasizing importance of full disclosure when applying for life insurance policies and demonstrated potential consequences for those failing to do so.

In the dissenting opinion for Cable v. United States Life Insurance Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling in favor of the insurance company was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that Mr. Cable had been misled by his insurance agent into believing he could safely let his policy lapse without losing its benefits, which ultimately led to him being denied coverage after falling ill. They felt this constituted fraud on part of the insurer and thus should have invalidated their claim denial. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of state law regarding lapsed policies and contended that even if Mr. Cable had knowingly allowed his policy to lapse, he still should have been entitled to some form of reduced coverage under existing statutes.