Stansbury v. Legal Security Life Insurance Co.

410 S.W.2d 663, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2720
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 21, 1966
Docket11449
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 410 S.W.2d 663 (Stansbury v. Legal Security Life Insurance Co.) 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
Stansbury v. Legal Security Life Insurance Co., 410 S.W.2d 663, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2720 (Tex. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinions

HUGHES, Justice.

This suit was by William F. Stansbury, appellant, against Legal Security Life Insurance Company to recover benefits alleged to be due under an agreement or binder receipt existing between the parties in connection with appellant’s application for a monthly disability income accident and health policy from appellee.1

The trial court granted appellee’s motion for summary judgment.

The facts, about which there is no dispute, are these:

On June 14, 1964, appellee, through its agent, Harold Wynn, solicited from appellant an application for insurance entitling appellant to $400.00 per month if incapacitated from illness or injury during the term of the policy to be issued and subject to its provisions.

This application, duly executed by both parties, contained this agreement:

“AGREEMENT
I expressly agree on behalf of myself and any person who shall have or claim any interest in any policy issued on this application consisting of Parts 1 and 11 as follows: 1. All statements and answers contained herein (Parts 1 and 11 inclusive) are full, complete and true to the best of my knowledge and belief and are correctly recorded. This application, including Part 11 hereof, which Part 11 I agree to complete promptly as the Company may require, and any policy or policies issued in consequence thereof shall constitute the entire contract of insurance and the Company shall not be [664]*664bound in any way by any statement, promises or information made or given by or to any agent or other person at any time unless the same be reduced to writing and submitted to the Company at its Home Office and made a part of such contract. Only the President, a vice President, a Secretary or an Assistant Secretary may make, modify or discharge contracts or waive any of the Company’s rights or requirements, and then only in writing. 2. The insurance hereby applied for shall not be considered in force until a policy shall have issued by the Company and said Policy manually received and accepted by me and the full first premium paid thereon, all during my good health; except that if the full first premium thereon is paid in advance to an authorized agent of the Company while I am in good health and the receipt detached from and bearing the same number as this application delivered, and the total amount of insurance applied for and now in force in the Company on my life does not exceed $10,000.00, and provided I am on this date a risk acceptable to the Company under its rules, limits and standards, on the plan, for the amount, and at the rate of premium declared paid, then the insurance in accordance with the provisions of the policy applied for shall commence on the date hereof. 3. The Company shall have sixty days from the date hereof within which to consider and act upon this application and if within such period a policy has not been received by me or if I have not received notice of approval or rejection, then this application shall be deemed to have been declined by the Company. 4. The Company is authorized to amend this application by an appropriate notation in the space designated ‘Home Office Additions or Corrections’ in order to correct apparent errors or omissions and in order to conform it with the form and content of the policy that may be issued. The acceptance of any policy issued on this application shall constitute an acceptance and ratification of any amendments made as contemplated above and of the beneficiary designation in such policy.
I HEREBY DECLARE that I have paid to the soliciting agent $- in cash, and that I hold receipt for the same made up without alteration on the receipt form detached from and bearing the same date and number as this application.
I hereby assent to the terms of such receipt.
Dated at DALLAS this 14 day of JUNE 1964
Witness: X /s/ William F. Stansbury
Agent Signature of Applicant
/s/ Harold E. Wynn
General Agent”

Appellant paid appellee the $24.00 premium on the day this agreement was executed and the receipt therefor was detached and delivered to appellant by Wynn, appellee’s agent who stated to appellant that he was insured from the minute that he paid over his money.

On June 16, 1964, appellant’s application and accompanying agreement were received by appellee from its agent. Appellee’s underwriter, Junell, decreased the amount of insurance applied for from $400.00 per month to $300.00 per month, and the premium from $24.00 per month to $19.50 per [665]*665month. The underwriter made these changes on appellant’s application and on June 22, 1964, notified appellee’s agent Wynn of the changes made, and Wynn, on or about the same date secured the consent of appellant to the changes in his application.2

Appellee actually issued and delivered in the afternoon or early evening of June 25, 1964, a policy to appellant in accordance with his application. This policy bore the effective date of noon June 25, 1964. Appellant was injured about 11 a. m. June 25, 1964.

Appellee takes the position that appellant applied for insurance intended to be effective as of June 14, 1964, for $400.00 per month disability income but that this application was rejected by the issuance of a policy calling for $300.00 per month disability payments at a reduced premium, effective at noon June 25, 1964, the legal effect of which is, as it states, “under the general rule of contract, such rejection of plaintiff’s offer and the subsequent counter offer by defendant terminated the insurance coverage provided by the receipt.” To support this view appellee cites Mutual L. [666]*666Ins. Co. of New York v. Young’s Adm’r, 23 Wall. (U.S.) 85, 23 L.Ed. 152.

In that case a policy of insurance was issued not in accordance with the application but before its delivery and before the applicant knew of its issuance a loss occurred. The application provided that the insurance should be effective from its date “provided that said application shall be accepted by the said Company.” The court held there was no contract, no meeting of the minds. The Company did not accept the application, which it had the unconditional right to refuse, nor did the applicant accept the policy issued.

We do not consider this case helpful. Here, it is undisputed that appellee did accept the application, as amended. This fact is evidenced by the changes made in application by appellee and appellant’s assent thereto, and by the issuance and delivery of the policy to appellant in accordance with the amended application.

Of similar import is Mohrstadt v. Mutual Life Ins. Co., 115 F. 81 (8th C.C.A.Mo.). There the Company had the unconditional right to refuse the application for insurance. The Company issued a policy differing from the one applied for but before it was delivered and before applicant was aware of its issuance, he died. The Court held there was meeting of the minds since the applicant had not agreed to accept the policy issued and the Company had not agreed to issue the policy described in the application.

Kronjeager v. Travelers’ Ins. Co., 124 W.Va. 730, 22 S.E.2d 689

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Stansbury v. Legal Security Life Insurance Co.
410 S.W.2d 663 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1966)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
410 S.W.2d 663, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stansbury-v-legal-security-life-insurance-co-texapp-1966.