Joyce I. Binkley v. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

471 F.2d 889
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 28, 1973
Docket72-1263
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 471 F.2d 889 (Joyce I. Binkley v. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Joyce I. Binkley v. Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, 471 F.2d 889 (10th Cir. 1973).

Opinions

McWILLIAMS, Circuit Judge.

The issue presented in this appeal is when a one-year suicide provision in a policy of life insurance commenced to run. The factual background out of which this dispute arose is not in dispute and on the contrary is agreed to by the parties.

Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, a Canadian corporation hereinafter referred to as the insurer, issued a group policy of; insurance to the Bank of Denver, dated May 9, 1961, insuring all eligible employees of the Bank. One Arby J. Binkley, a Colorado resident hereinafter referred to as the insured, accepted employment with the Bank on May 9, 1966, and accordingly became covered under the aforesaid group policy previously issued the Bank by the insurer.

Pursuant to the terms of the group policy, the insurer on May 9,1966, issued the insured a “Certificate of Insurance.” The group policy incidentally had no suicide clause. The certificate issued the insured had a conversion clause which granted the insured certain rights should he terminate his employment with the Bank. These conversion privileges play a considerable role in the present controversy and accordingly are now set forth in their entirety:

Article 26. CONVERSION PRIVILEGE OF OBTAINING AN INDIVIDUAL POLICY OF LIFE INSURANCE. If an employee’s insurance or part thereof terminates, he will have the privilege of converting his insurance so terminated to an individual policy of life insurance, without being required to furnish evidence of insurability, subject to the following conditions:
(a) Written application for the policy and payment of the first premium thereon must be made not later than 31 days after the date of termination of his employment.
(b) The policy will not contain Total Disability, Accidental Death and Dismemberment, Double Indemnity or other supplementary benefits and must be on a plan, other than term insurance, then regularly issued by the Insurance Company at the insurance age under the policy, that is at his age on his birthday nearest to the policy year date of the policy. The employee can elect that the policy include single premium preliminary or interim term insurance for a period of not more than 12 months. The policy will be issued on the form then in use by the Insurance Company and will include any clauses then regularly included in any individual life policy then customarily issued by the Insurance Company.
(c) The sum insured under the policy must not be more than the amount of his Life insurance which so terminates, and must not be less than the minimum required by the Insurance Company for the plan selected.
(d) The premium for the policy will be calculated at the insurance age under the policy and from the table of premium rates then in use for the class of risk to which he belongs. The premium must not be less than the minimum required by the Insurance Company for the premium frequently selected.
(e) The policy will become effective at the end of the 31 day period after the date of termination of his employment.
* * * *- * «
If the employee dies during the 31 day period within which he is entitled to convert his insurance to an individual policy and before any such individual policy has become effective, the sum insured under such individual policy which the employee is entitled to have issued to him will be payable as a claim under the group policy, whether or not application for the individual policy [891]*891or the payment of the first premium therefor has been made. (Emphasis added.)

On or about May 26, 1969, the insured terminated his employment with the Bank and prior thereto, on March 24, 1969, to be exact, he made application with the insurer for an individual policy of life insurance to replace the group policy coverage.

On May 26, 1969, the insurer issued the insured an individual policy of insurance, with Joyce I. Binkley, the insured’s wife, being designated as primary beneficiary. The individual policy provided as follows:

“If the life insured commits suicide whether sane or insane within 1 year from this policy’s date of issue, the Company’s liability under the policy will be limited to the sum of the premiums paid under the policy decreased by any indebtedness.”

On November 5, 1969, the insured died and his death was agreed to have been a suicide. The beneficiary then made claim against the insurer for payment of the face amount of the individual polcy issued the insured and the claim was rejected on the basis of the one-year suicide clause. The beneficiary then instituted the present action to compel payment by the insurer. In response to the complaint, the insurer filed an answer setting up the one-year suicide as a defense. Both the insurer and the beneficiary thereafter filed motions for summary judgment, each averring that there were no genuine issues of fact. The trial court, upon hearing, denied the beneficiary’s motion for summary judgment, and granted that of the insurer. The beneficiary now appeals the summary judgment entered in favor of the insurer. We affirm.

It is the beneficiary’s position that the group policy and the individual policy issued the insured when he terminated his employment with the Bank are but a single, continuing contract of insurance and that accordingly the one-year suicide clause in the individual policy commenced to run as to the insured on May 9, 1966, the date when the insured came under the group policy and was issued a Certificate of Insurance. It is the position of the insurer that, on the contrary, the group policy and the individual policy are separate and distinct contracts and that the suicide clause in the individual policy by its own terms commenced to run on the date of issuance of the individual policy, namely, May 26, 1969. As indicated, the trial court upheld the insurer’s position and entered judgment in favor of the insurer.

It is agreed that Colorado law applies to the present controversy. However, there apparently is no Colorado law on the particular point here involved. In such circumstance, we, as an appellate court, should accept the trial court’s determination of state law unless such appears to be clearly erroneous. Sta-Rite Industries, Inc. v. Johnson, 453 F.2d 1192 (10th Cir. 1972), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 958, 92 S.Ct. 2062, 32 L.Ed.2d 344 (1972); Manville v. Borg-Warner Corporation, 418 F.2d 434 (10th Cir. 1969); and Cranford v. Farnsworth & Chambers Company, 261 F.2d 8 (10th Cir. 1958). In our view, the trial court’s determination is not clearly erroneous and on the contrary is quite correct.

The general rule as applied to the admitted facts of the instant case would appear to be that if the terms of the individual policy were the same as those of the group policy or if the terms of the individual policy were in accord with the provisions of the conversion clause in the group policy, then the individual policy and the group policy would be deemed a single, continuing contract to the end that the suicide clause in the individual policy would have commenced to run as the date of issuance of the group policy and as to the insured as of May 9, 1966.

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Bluebook (online)
471 F.2d 889, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/joyce-i-binkley-v-manufacturers-life-insurance-company-ca10-1973.