Williams v. Mutual Life of Illinois
| Decision Date | 22 April 1926 |
| Docket Number | No. 3884.,3884. |
| Citation | 283 S.W. 64 |
| Parties | WILLIAMS v. MUTUAL LIFE OF ILLINOIS. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Newton County; Chas. L. Henson, Judge.
Action by Hattie Williams, administratrix of the estate of Add Williams, against the Mutual Life of Illinois. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed and remanded.
Leo H. Johnson, of Neosho, for appellant.
Horace Ruark, of Neosho, and Allen & Allen, of Springfield, for respondent.
Action by the administratrix upon a sick and accident insurance policy issued to the deceased, Add Williams, by the defendant. Plaintiff recovered, and defendant appealed.
The issuance of the policy and the death of the insured were admitted, and an affirmative defense of misrepresentation in the application for insurance pleaded. This policy was denominated a health and accident policy. It provided, however, for the payment of a designated sum in case death should result from accident. The case was tried upon the theory that section 6142, Stat. 1919, applies, and that is the first question demanding our attention. The statute referred to is as follows:
"Sec. 6142—Misrepresentation—No misrepresentation made in obtaining or securing a policy of insurance on the life or lives of any person or persons, citizens of this state, shall be deemed material, or render the policy void, unless the matter misrepresented shall have actually contributed to the contingency or event on which the policy is to become due and payable, and whether it so contributed in any case shall be a question for the jury." (Italics are ours.)
The language used in this statute confines its application to policies on the life of persons insured. It does not purport to apply to all policies issued by a corporation doing a life insurance business, but its application is limited to policies on life. The policy before us provides for payments if the insured shall become disabled from sickness and for certain payments for accidents. One of the payments provided in case of accident is a certain sum if death results from the accident. This latter provision makes this policy a policy upon life which brings it, as a whole, within the terms of the statute. Logan v. Fidelity & Casualty Co., 146 Mo. 114, 47 S. W. 948: Applegate v. Travelers' Ins. Co., 153 Mo. App. 63, 90, 132 S. W. 2; Whitfield v. Ætna Ins. Co., 205 U. S. 489, 27 S. Ct. 578, 51 L. Ed. 895.
The above cases were construing section 6150, Stat. 1919, which is known as the suicide statute. In designating to what policies it should apply, the language is "in all suits upon policies of insurance on life. * * *" This, in substance, is the same language used in section 6142 now under consideration.
Had the insured died as the result of an accident and this suit were based on the indemnity provided for death, there could be no question that the statute applies, and a defense of misrepresentation and false warranty in obtaining the policy could not be made available unless it could be shown that the matter misrepresented contributed to the death of the insured. The statute by its terms seems to apply to the policy as a whole, with no provision indicating that it may apply to one provision of the policy and not to another. If it were intended to apply to claims for death loss only, then we would have this strange...
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