Griffin v. Travelers Ins.

122 F.2d 395, 137 A.L.R. 829, 1941 U.S. App. LEXIS 2979
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedAugust 28, 1941
DocketNo. 9774
StatusPublished

This text of 122 F.2d 395 (Griffin v. Travelers Ins.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Griffin v. Travelers Ins., 122 F.2d 395, 137 A.L.R. 829, 1941 U.S. App. LEXIS 2979 (9th Cir. 1941).

Opinion

STEPHENS, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-appellant, a resident of the State of California, is the beneficiary under three insurance policies issued by the defendant-appellee [a Connecticut corporation] on the life of Roscoe W. Griffin, now deceased. The insurance company had declared the policies lapsed prior to the death of the insured, and defends the action to recover on the policies on that ground.

The policies with which we are here concerned are: No. 961783, in the amount of $25,000; No, 1659085, in the amount of $5,000; and No. 1659057, in the amount of $5,000. For convenience herein we shall refer to the policies as “first”, “second” and “third” policy respectively.

The status of the three policies on January 1, 1939, was as follows:

The first policy was in its eleventh insurance year, said eleventh year having started on November 15, 1938. The premiums on the policy were payable monthly >on the 15th day of each month in the sum of $51.50, and were fully paid to date. No loans were outstanding.

The second and third policies were in their seventh insurance years, said seventh year having started on January 19, 1938. These policies called for quarterly payments of premiums of $32.70 each on the 19th day of January, April, July and October. There was an outstanding loan .against each of these policies in the sum of .$401.27, which had been contracted in the month of December, 1938. Premiums were -paid to January 19, 1939.

Each of the three policies contained the -following provision: “After three full years’ premiums shall have been paid * * * on demand in writing to the Home Office of the Company, the Insured -may borrow at any time during the year -on the sole security of this contract an .amount not exceeding the cash value at .the end of the current insurance year as specified in the table of cash values hereinafter set forth, provided: interest in advance at the rate of five and one-half -percentum per annum shall be payable and the initial interest shall be deducted from the loan; the contract shall be assigned to the Company by all of the párties in interest thereunder; the premiums shall be fully paid to the end of the current insurance year, or if not already so paid shall be deducted in the adpistment of the loan; the amount available at any time shall include any previous loan then unpaid. * * * If the total indebtedness shall equal or exceed the cash value at the time of failure to repay any such loan or to pay interest when due, such failure shall render this contract null and void at the expiration of one month after due notice shall have been mailed by the Company to the last known address of the person to whom the loan shall have been made and of the Insured, or assignee, if any.” [Italics supplied.]

The table of cash and loan values in the first policy is as follows:

“The Cash and Loan Values * * * Available in Any Year Will Be 25 Times the Amount Stated in the Following Table: * * *

“10 Years $152.24
“11 Years 171.44
“12 Years 191.34”.

The table of cash and loan values in the second and third policies is as follows:

“The Cash and Loan Values * * * Available in Any Year Will Be 5 Times the Amount Stated in the Following Table: * ❖ ❖

“6 Years . $ 94.04
“7 Years 112.35
“8 Years 131.40”.

It is thus apparent that as to the first policy, during the eleventh insurance year [from November 15, 1938 to November 15, 1939] the maximum cash and loan value was $4,286 [25 times $171.44].

As to the second and third policies, the maximum cash and loan value of each policy during the seventh insurance year [from January 19, 1938 to January 19, 1939] was $561.75 [5 times $112.35]; and during the eighth insurance year [from January 19, 1939 to January 19, 1940] the maximum cash and loan value of each policy was $657 [5 times $131.40].

On January 20, 1939, the insured procured a loan of $1,200 on the first policy and received from the company a check in the net amount of $1,041.76. The difference, amounting to $158.24, was de[397]*397ducted by the company and applied as follows : $4.71 as interest on the loan to February 15, 1939; $25.59 applied to the payment of the January monthly premium and interest due on a fourth policy of insurance [which policy is not involved in this action] ; $38.22 applied in payment of the quarterly premium and interest on the old loan on the third policy of insurance; and the sum of $51.50 as payment of premium on the first policy of insurance to February 15, 1939.

In other words, instead of deducting from the proceeds of the loan sufficient to pay the premiums on the policy to the end of the current insurance year, as provided in the policy, the company deducted interest and premiums to February 15, 1939, when the next premium payment would become due under the policy.

On February 23, 1939, the insured procured an additional loan on the first policy of $1,500 and received a check in the net amount of $1,323.30. The difference of $176.70 was deducted and applied by the company as follows: $22.52 as interest on the loans against the policy to April 15, 1939; $51.18 applied to the payment of premiums and interest due on the fourth policy with which we are not here concerned; and $103 as payment of two months’ premiums on the first policy of insurance, to April 15, 1939.

So, here again, instead of deducting from the proceeds of the loan sufficient to pay the premiums on the policy to the end of the current insurance year, premiums were deducted only to April 15, 1939.

On April 1, 1939, the insured procured an additional loan of $1,000 on the first policy, from which was deducted the sum of $2.11 as interest to April 15, 1939. The insured received a check for the difference of $997.89.

On May 2, 1939, the insured applied for an additional loan of $200 on the first policy and received a net sum of $61.75. The balance of $138.25 was applied by the company as follows: $35.25 interest to June 15, 1939 and $103 in payment of two months’ premiums on the first policy to June 15, 1939.

On June 13, 1939, the insured procured another loan of $226 on the first policy. No premiums were deducted from the proceeds of this loan. Interest to June 15, 1939, in the amount of $1.09 was deducted, leaving $224.91 which was received by the insured.

Thus on June 15, 1939, there were outstanding on the first policy loans totaling $4,126. Interest on these loans and the premium on the policy were paid to June 15, 1939. It will be remembered that as of the end of the insurance year [November 15, 1939] the loan value of the policy was $4,286.

Turning now, to the second and third policies, on January 1, 1939, there was an outstanding loan against each of these policies in the sum of $401.27. Interest on these loans and the premiums on the policies were paid to January 19, 1939.

On May 20, 1939, the insured procured a loan of $125 on the 'second policy and a like loan of $125 on the third policy. At this time the premiums on these two policies had been paid to July 19, 1939, so no deductions were made from the $250 for this purpose. There was a deduction of a sufficient sum to pay the premium on the first policy from June 15, 1939, to July 15, 1939.

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Related

Roeser v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
162 Misc. 798 (City of New York Municipal Court, 1936)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
122 F.2d 395, 137 A.L.R. 829, 1941 U.S. App. LEXIS 2979, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/griffin-v-travelers-ins-ca9-1941.