Halsey v. American Central Life Ins. Co.

• Decision Date: 02 June 1914
• Docket Number: No. 16686.,16686.
• Citation: 167 S.W. 951,258 Mo. 659
• Parties: HALSEY v. AMERICAN CENTRAL LIFE INS. CO.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

167 S.W. 951

258 Mo. 659

HALSEY v. AMERICAN CENTRAL LIFE INS. CO.

No. 16686.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

June 2, 1914.

1. INSURANCE (§ 186*) — LIFE INSURANCE — TERM OF INSURANCE — APPLICATION — POLICY.

An application for a life policy, dated May 24, 1906, recited that the applicant proposed to insure his life, and provided that the annual premium should be payable in advance on May 24th, that there should be no contract of insurance until a policy was issued and delivered, and premium paid, and that the application and policy applied for should constitute the entire contract. The policy, dated May 31st and delivered June 5th, when the premium was paid, recited that it insured the life of the applicant for one year from May 24th, and thereafter, in consideration of annual payment of the premium on or before May 24th of each year, until 15 annual premiums had been paid. Held, that the applicant was insured for one full year from June 5th, so that a tender of a second premium on May 31st of the following year was within the time fixed by the contract.

2. INSURANCE (§ 388*) — PAYMENT OF PREMIUM — AUTHORITY OF AGENT TO RECEIVE PREMIUM.

Where a life policy was issued through an agent and put into effect by payment of the first premium to him, a tender to him of the second premium was made to one having authority to receive it, and insurer could not, to defeat a recovery on the policy, deny his authority.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; William M. Kinsey, Judge.

Action by O. L. Halsey, administrator of Augustus C. Halsey, deceased, against the American Central Life Insurance Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

This was a suit on a policy of life insurance issued for the sum of $10,000 by the defendant upon the life of Augustus C. Halsey, deceased. A trial was had in the circuit court of the city of St. Louis, which resulted in a judgment in favor of the plaintiff for the full amount sued for and interest. In due time and in proper form the defendant appealed the cause to this court.

The pleadings are put aside, as there is no point made in that regard.

The cause was submitted to the court upon the following agreed statement of facts, viz.:

"It is agreed that this cause shall be submitted to the court upon the pleadings, the policy sued on, the application therefor, a certain loan agreement hereinafter referred to, copies of all which are hereto attached and made part hereof, and marked, respectively, Exhibits A, B, and C, and the following agreed statement of facts: All exhibits are identified by the signatures of the attorneys of the parties hereto.

"(1) Augustus C. Halsey, by a writing called part 1 of the application, dated, signed, and delivered at St. Louis, Mo., on the 24th day of May, 1906, applied to American Central Life Insurance Company, defendant herein, for a policy on his life in the sum of ten thousand dollars. It was agreed that the annual premium on the policy applied for should be $368.40, of which $307 should be paid in cash, and $61.40 might be at the option of the applicant paid by a loan agreement which, with interest thereon, should be a lien upon the policy applied for. The loan agreement was executed and delivered with the application.

"(2) Part one of the application and the loan agreement were received by the agent company in St. Louis, Mo., on the 24th day of May, 1906, and on the next day forwarded by him to the home office of the company, Indianapolis, Ind., where they were received on the 26th day of May, 1906. The same day the defendant company mailed a written request to the Kansas City, Mo., office of Retail Credit Company for an inspection report upon Augustus C. Halsey.

"(3) On the 25th day of May, 1906, the applicant, consistent with the terms of part 1 of the application, submitted himself to a medical examination, and such examination, being parts 2 and 3 of the application, were in due course forwarded to the home office of the company, where they were received on the 29th day of May, 1906.

"(4) On May 31, 1906, a favorable inspection report upon the applicant was received at the home office of the company from the Retail Credit Company, and a policy issued on that day; the same being number 10701. The policy was delivered by defendant's agent to the applicant in St. Louis, Mo., on the 5th day of June, 1906, at which time the agent was paid the cash part of the premium.

"(5) That the defendant, more than 20 days, but not to exceed 35, prior to May 24, 1907, posted in the United States mails, in an envelope stamped and addressed to Augustus C. Halsey, No. 3914 Olive street, St. Louis, Mo., a notice stating that the second annual premium on account of said policy would be due and payable at the home office of the company, or to an agent holding a receipt signed by the president, vice president, actuary, or secretary of the company on or before May 24, 1907.

"(6) On the 31st day of May, 1907, O. L. Halsey, a brother of said Augustus C. Halsey, called at the office of H. M. Leonard, the St. Louis agent of the defendant, and handed to said Leonard a check for $307, payable to the order of defendant as payment of the second premium on said policy. Thereupon said Leonard advised the said Halsey that he did not have the company's receipt for the premium, and was not authorized to accept such payment or to bind the company in the matter; that it would be necessary for Augustus C. Halsey, or some one in his behalf, to take the matter up with the home office of the company; that the premium was past due; and that the company would probably require a health certificate, and said check was thereupon returned to O. L. Halsey, but no objection was made to the check as a tender. No payment or tender, if the above facts constituted a tender, was ever made on account of such second premium, other than the offer of said check as aforesaid, nor was there any further communication with the company or its agent concerning the same.

"(7) Said Augustus C. Halsey died on the morning of the 5th day of June, 1907.

"(8) On or about July 23, 1907, the representative of Augustus C. Halsey requested the defendant to furnish it with the defendant's standard proof of claim blanks. That the defendant company then and there disclaimed all liability under said policy.

"(9) It is admitted that O. L. Halsey is the duly appointed, qualified, and acting administrator of the estate of Augustus C. Halsey, and no question is raised as to his power to sue."

The material parts of the application for the insurance are as follows:

"I, Augustus C. Halsey, of St. Louis, Mo., hereby propose to insure my life with the American Central Life Insurance Co. to the amount of ten thousand dollars. * * * The annual premium to be made payable in advance on the 24th day of May. * * * I hereby expressly agree:

"That there shall be no contract of insurance until a policy shall have been issued and delivered to me when in good health, and the premium paid to said company or its duly authorized agent during my lifetime.

"* * * That, if any premiums on said insurance shall not be paid when due, all previous payments shall be forfeited to the company, except as provided in its policy. * * *

"That all premiums on any policy issued on this application shall be annual premiums. * * *

"The failure to pay any premium or obligation given to the company therefor at the time the same become due * * * shall render any policy...