Boorman v. Nw. Mut. Relief Ass'n
| Decision Date | 03 April 1895 |
| Citation | 62 N.W. 924,90 Wis. 144 |
| Parties | BOORMAN v. NORTHWESTERN MUT. RELIEF ASS'N. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from circuit court, Dane county; Robert G. Siebecker, Judge.
Action by Mary G. Boorman against the Northwestern Mutual Relief Association to recover upon a life insurance policy. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.
Action to recover upon a mutual life insurance policy. The defendant issued an indemnity policy to one Holman Boorman, August 24, 1885. This policy was conditioned for the payment of certain assessments by the assured, and provided (1) for the payment of 40 per cent. of the proceeds of an assessment (not exceeding, however, $500) in case of total and permanent incapacity to perform manual labor; (2) for the payment, in case of death or on the 24th day of February, 1926, of 80 per cent. of the proceeds of an assessment not exceeding $2,000. The policy was payable to the assured, or, in case of his death, to Maggie Boorman, his wife, if living; otherwise to the heirs of the assured. It contained no provision avoiding it in case of suicide. On the 14th day of April, 1887, Maggie Boorman, the beneficiary, died, leaving an infant child, which died two months later. The complaint claims that Holman Boorman became gradually unsettled in his mind after the death of his wife, so that in January, 1890, he was in fact insane, and incompetent to transact business. It is further alleged, and the fact appears by the proof, that on the 2d of January, 1890, the defendant, having determined to issue a new form of policy, sent to Holman Boorman by mail a printed document which was a formal application in blank for the surrender of his old certificate, and for a certificate in the new form in exchange therefor, together with a circular letter explaining the advantages of the new form of certificate over the old, and informing old members that they could make the exchange, upon a statement of good health, within 60 days. The proposed new certificateprovided that “suicide or self-destruction of the member herein named, whether voluntary or involuntary, sane or insane, at the time thereof, is not a risk assumed by the association.” It contained also provisions for the payment of partial indemnity in case of accidental loss of hands, feet, arms, or legs, and in case of total blindness; also for the payment, February 24, 1926, of 40 per cent. of an assessment not exceeding $1,000, and for the payment at death of 80 per cent. of an assessment not exceeding $2,000. These changes were detailed in the circular accompanying the blank application. Soon after receiving these papers, Holman Boorman went to the office of the defendant company at Madison, and surrendered his certificate, and thereafter a policy of the new form was issued to him, dated January 29, 1890, but the evidence tends to show that he did not receive it until about March 11, 1890. This last policy was payable to the assured, if living; if not, to his mother (the plaintiff); if none, to his wife; if none, to his parents; if none, then to his heirs. The complaint alleges that Holman Boorman was at the time of this exchange wholly incompetent to transact any business, and that the defendant then and thereby perpetrated a fraud on the assured and his representatives. Holman Boorman died intestate, March 18, 1890, leaving his mother as his only heir. The complaint alleges that the cause of his death was an “overdose of laudanum, taken while insane.” The giving of notice and proofs of death, as required by the policy, is alleged, as well as the performance of all conditions and payment of all assessments by the assured, and judgment is demanded for the sum of $2,000, alleged to be due upon the original policy of insurance. The answer denies any insanity or incompetency on the part of Holman Boorman, and alleges that he exchanged policies voluntarily, and...
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