Novellino v. Life Ins. Co. of North America
| Citation | 216 A.2d 420,59 Del. 187,9 Storey 187 |
| Parties | , 59 Del. 187 James V. NOVELLINO, Plaintiff Below, Appellant, v. LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA, a Pennsylvania corporation, Defendant Below, Appellee. |
| Decision Date | 18 January 1966 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Delaware |
Appeal from Superior Court in and for New Castle County.
Harold Leshem and Harvey B. Rubenstein, Wilmington, for appellant.
Richard I. G. Jones, of Prickett & Prickett, Wilmington, for appellee.
This is an appeal by the plaintiff, James V. Novellino, from the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Life Insurance Company of North America.
Novellino, on November 1, 1962, made application for an accident and sickness insurance policy with the defendant, Life Insurance Company, through the solicitation of an agent acting for the defendant and its sales supervisor. At the time the solicitation was made, Novellino was told that if he made application and paid one-twelfth of the premium due, the coverage of the policy to be written would be effective immediately. Accordingly, Novellino made application, paid one-twelfth of the premium due for the policy for which he applied, and received a 'Receipt for Payment of Premium With Application.'
The receipt thus delivered provides in pertinent part as follows:
'If the sum paid with respect to any policy applied for in the application bearing the same number as this receipt, as stated in such application, is at least one-twelfth (1/12) of an annual premium on such policy but not less than $10.00: (a) insurance under the terms of such policy but, in the case of a Life Insurance Policy, not in excess of $100,000, shall take effect from the date of application, if the Company, at its Home Office shall be satisfied that on that date the Proposed Insured, and his wife and all dependent children, if family insurance is requested, and the Applicant, if Payor Insurance is requested, was or were insurable at standard rates under its rules and practices, and shall approve without modification insurance for the amount, and on the plan, applied for; * * *.'
On November 6, 1962, Novellino was given a physical examination by a doctor chosen by the defendant Insurance Company. As a result of that examination and as the further result of a medical report on Novellino delivered by his personal physician dated March 15, 1962, the defendant Insurance Company, on November 21, 1962, decided that Novellino did not qualify physically for the insurance for which he had applied at the standard rates. On November 23, 1962 the Insurance Company issued to Novellino a modified accident and sickness policy effective November 25, 1962. The premium previously paid by Noverllino was credited by the defendant Insurance Company to this modified policy.
On November 21, 1962 Novellino was injured and was hospitalized on November 26, 1962. He brings suit for benefits under the policy for which he had first applied on the theory that the policy was in effect as interim insurance on November 21, 1962 because of the payment by him of the premium and the delivery to him by the agent of the receipt.
There is no question but that, in law, an Insurance Company may be bound by interim contract for the period of time between the date of application for a policy and the final approval by the Company and the issuance of an actual policy. However, this occurs only when the receipt or other paper delivered initially to the insured so provides. In the absence of such a binder, the Insurance Company does not become an insurer of the applicant until final approval by it of the application. See Annotation, 2 A.L.R.2d 952.
The question, therefore, is always whether or not the language of the receipt or other paper delivered to the applicant provides for the immediate effectiveness of tne applied-for insurance. If the receipt excludes the existence of interim insurance, then the Company is not bound.
The language of insurance contracts or receipts delivered to applicants is always construed against the ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Casson v. Nationwide Ins. Co.
...terms of an insurance contract must be construed strongly in favor of the insured and against the insurer. Novellino v. Life Ins. Co. of North America, Del.Supr., 216 A.2d 420 (1966); but where the language is clear, both the insurer and insured are bound by its terms. Lamberton v. Traveler......
-
Brown v. Equitable Life Ins. Co. of Iowa, 150
...Ins. Co. (10th Cir. 1969), 322 F.2d 645; McLean v. Life of Virginia (1971), 11 N.C.App. 87, 180 S.E.2d 431; Novellino v. Life Ins. Co. of North America (Del.1966), 216 A.2d 420; Suarez v. Southland Life Ins. Co. (1963), Dist.Ct.App.Fla., 158 So.2d 536; Simpson v. Prudential Insurance Co. of......
-
Life Ins. Co. of Georgia v. Miller
...275 Ala. 594, 157 So.2d 19 (1963); McLean v. Life of Virginia, 11 N.C.App. 87, 180 S.E.2d 431 (1971); Novellino v. Life Insurance Co. of North America, 216 A.2d 420 (Del. 1966); National Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Carmichael, 53 Tenn.App. 280, 381 S.W.2d 925 (1964); Sasser Coastal States L......
-
Maguire v. Allstate Insurance Company
...this were so the ambiguity would have to be resolved against Allstate since it drafted the policy. Novellino v. Life Insurance Company of North America, 216 A.2d 420, 422 (Del.Sup.Ct.1966). The fact that nine days before trial defendant tendered an Offer of Judgment for $25,000 purportedly ......