Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest v. Overstreet

580 S.W.2d 929
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 26, 1979
Docket18068
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 580 S.W.2d 929 (Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest v. Overstreet) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest v. Overstreet, 580 S.W.2d 929 (Tex. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinions

OPINION

SPURLOCK, Justice.

A life insurance company appeals the judgment of the trial court against it for the face amount of a policy of life insurance plus attorney’s fees. The question is whether the effective date of the policy is the one stated thereon, or the date when the first year’s premium was paid and coverage became effective. The answer will determine whether the named insured died within the 31 day grace period thus entitling his widow to the policy proceeds as the beneficiary. The trial court found the policy, including the grace period, was in force on the date of the insured’s death.

We affirm.

In 1971 the insurer issued a five year convertible term life insurance policy on the life of Maxie Overstreet. His wife, Jacquei Mae, was the beneficiary. The policy was convertible into an endowment insurance policy. In February 1972 the Overstreets applied for the conversion of the policy to an endowment at age 90 policy. Overstreet issued a check for the premium for the endowment policy on March 6, 1972 but it failed to clear his bank. On March 15, 1972 the insurer issued the endowment policy with March 15, 1972 as the stated effective date. Another check was issued for the premium on April 13, 1972. A representative of the insurer testified that this check was received on April 17 and applied April 18, 1972.

As of April 15, 1973 the Overstreets had not made any premium payment for the second year of the endowment policy. The insurer sent them notices that the premium was past due and finally that the policy had terminated. However, the insurer offered to reinstate the endowment policy if the Overstreets paid the premium which they did on April 25, 1973. The payment on April 25, 1973 was the last payment made on the policy. Overstreet died April 24, 1974.

Mrs. Overstreet demanded payment of the policy proceeds but the insurer refused. The insurer’s position is that the third year premium was due on March 15, 1974, the anniversary of the effective date stated in the policy. Since no premium was paid, it contends the 31 day grace period began to run March 15, 1974 and expired April 15, 1974. Thus the insurer concludes that Ov-erstreet died nine days after the expiration of the grace period and Mrs. Overstreet is not entitled to any benefits. Mrs. Over-street’s position as stated in her pleadings is:

“Notwithstanding the recitation on the face of the involved policy that the effective date of such policy was March 15, 1972, such policy did not, in fact, come into force as a contract of insurance until April 18, 1972, with premiums to be paid on an annual basis. Premiums for the first annual term of this policy were paid on April 18, 1972, and the premiums for the second annual term of this policy were paid on April 29, 1973. Maxie James Overstreet died on or about April 24, 1974, which date was within the second annual time period, including the 31-day grace period that the policy was in force, thereby obligating Defendant to pay the death benefits ... to Plaintiff as provided therein.”

This clearly indicates that Mrs. Over-street believes that the effective date of the policy was April 18, 1972. It also presents her contention that under the terms of the contract she was entitled to a full year’s coverage for the premium paid. The trial court after a non jury trial found as follows:

[931]*931“1. The involved policy became in force on April 18, 1972, on an annual premium basis.
“2. Annual premiums subsequent to the initial annual premium were due on the 18th day of April of each year the policy was to be continued in force.
“3. The life insurance policy in question was in full force and effect on April 24, 1974, the date of the death of Maxie Overstreet, the insured.”

The insurer attacks these findings claiming that there is no evidence in the record to support them. It contends the evidence established as a matter of law that the policy had expired prior to Overstreet’s death, that March 15, 1972 was the effective date of the policy, and that all annual premiums were due on March 15 for each year following 1972. In order to resolve this dispute it is necessary to review the insurance contract and other evidence in detail.

The policy provides that the application and the policy constitute the entire contract between the parties. Paragraph 3 of the application states:

“3. Any insurance approved by the Company for issuance as a result of this application, unless effective prior to policy delivery in the manner specified in the receipt attached hereto, shall be considered in force only when a policy shall have been issued by the Company and said policy manually received and accepted by the Applicant and the full first premium paid thereon, . . . .”

A thorough review of the record fails to disclose the attachment of any receipt referred to in paragraph 3 nor any evidence thereof. Therefore we conclude that the policy became effective when the requirements of paragraph 3 were fulfilled. Further, a representative of the insurer testified that the policy did not become effective until April 18,1972 when the first year premium was paid. Therefore, we conclude that there is evidence in the record to support the finding that the policy went into effect April 18, 1972 by the insurer’s own construction.

The policy also provides:

“The consideration for this Policy is the application therefor and the payment of premiums as herein provided. The first premium ... is payable on the Effective Date and subsequent premiums are payable in periodic instalments thereafter until premiums have been paid for the period specified in the Insurance Schedule or until the prior death of the Insured. .
“The payment of an annual, . premium will maintain this Policy in force for one year, . . . . Such periods will be deemed to expire and the next premium shall fall due on the same day of the month on which the first premium is due. Failure to pay any premium when due or within the period of grace provided shall cause this Policy immediately to become void except as otherwise provided herein.”

Mrs. Overstreet contends that because the policy did not become effective until the first premium was paid on April 18, 1972 and the policy provides that premium payment will keep the policy in force for one year, April 18, 1972 is the effective date of the policy for all purposes. The insurer claims that the effective date is March 15, 1972 as stated in the policy. It contends that a stated effective date in a policy is different and distinct from the date coverage under the policy became effective. It claims that as a matter of law the effective date is as stated in the policy.

As authority for its position the insurer cites Great Southern Life Ins. Co. v. Peddy, 139 Tex. 245, 162 S.W.2d 652 (1942). Peddy holds that where a life insurance policy expressly specifies the date from which the policy premium periods are to be computed and makes that date the due date for premiums, that date will control over the date the policy is delivered and first premium paid. This stated date will control regardless of a provision in the policy that the insurance will not be effective until the policy is issued, delivered, and the first premium paid.

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Related

Goldman v. Metropolitan Life Insurance
841 N.E.2d 742 (New York Court of Appeals, 2005)
Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest v. Overstreet
603 S.W.2d 780 (Texas Supreme Court, 1980)
Life Insurance Co. of the Southwest v. Overstreet
580 S.W.2d 929 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1979)

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Bluebook (online)
580 S.W.2d 929, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/life-insurance-co-of-the-southwest-v-overstreet-texapp-1979.