Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. v. Cash

454 S.W.2d 584, 1970 Mo. App. LEXIS 624
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 28, 1970
DocketNo. 33612
StatusPublished

This text of 454 S.W.2d 584 (Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. v. Cash) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. v. Cash, 454 S.W.2d 584, 1970 Mo. App. LEXIS 624 (Mo. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

DOERNER, Commissioner.

Faced with conflicting demands for the proceeds of an insurance policy issued by it on the life of its insured, The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company tendered into court the amount due, $8188.42, in an action of interpleader in which appellant and respondent were named as defendants. After a hearing the court sustained the interplea, allowed the plaintiff fees and expenses of $359.40, and discharged the insurer from any further liability to the rival claimants. Subsequently a trial was held before the court, which rendered judgment in favor of respondent, and appellant appealed.

Respondent, Joyce M. Cash, and the insured, Charles Eugene Cash, were married on July 23, 1960, and they, together with Joyce’s three young children by a prior marriage, lived with Charles’ mother, appellant Genevieve J. Cash, until Charles was killed in an automobile accident on February 19, 1965. During that entire period, according to respondent, appellant paid the rent, electric, gas, insurance, and the food bill up until the last year when Charles started to pay that. Shortly after the marriage, on September 20, 1960, one of the insured’s agents named Arthur L. Reeves, called upon appellant to collect a premium on her policy of insurance, and a discussion ensued between Reeves, Charles, respondent and appellant regarding insurance on Charles and his family. As a result, two applications were prepared. By the first, titled “Application for Ordinary Insurance,” executed by Charles, he applied to the Western and Southern Life Insurance Company for insurance on his life in the face amount of $4111 (subsequently corrected to $4115), and named the respondent as the beneficiary. The second application is titled “Application Supplementary Family Unit Term Insurance,” and reads that “Application is hereby made for Family Unit Term Insurance to be provided by supplementary provisions or agreement attached to and made part of [] Policy No._on the life of Charles E. Cash (hereinafter referred to as Proposed Insured).” In that part of the form under the heading “1A. Full names of Persons Proposed for Insurance” there was listed the name of respondent and those of her three children. The application was executed by respondent above the legend [586]*586“Signature of Wife,” and by Charles above the words “Signature of Proposed Insured.”

On October 5, 1960, the insured issued its policy numbered 214 52 25, naming Charles as both insured and as the owner of the policy, the respondent as beneficiary, stating the face amount as $4115, and showing under “Schedule of Premiums” the following (omitting those shown for annual, semiannual and quarterly since the evidence showed they were paid monthly) :

“For the Life Insurance . . .$ 8.15
For the Accidental Death Benefit.37
For the Family Unit Prot . . 1.48
Total for the Policy .... 10.00”

Included in the policy is a page titled “Family Unit Protector,” in which the policy number is stated to be “214 52 25” the insured to be Charles Eugene Cash, the insured wife to be Joyce M. Cash, the expiry date 10-5-99, and the coverage as “Insured Wife $1500” and “Each Insured Child $750.”

According to respondent’s recollection she or Charles paid the premiums of $10 per month from September, 1960 until September, 1961, when she told Charles that they couldn’t afford the insurance any longer and to drop it. The number of monthly premiums paid by Charles was disputed by appellant, who testified that after Charles had made four payments Charles came to her and asked her to keep up the policy until he got on his feet, and that thereafter she paid all of the premiums. In support of her testimony appellant produced and there was introduced as appellant’s Exhibit 2, forty-three receipts for insurance policy payments. Pritchett, the Company’s agent who had collected the last several payments, testified that appellant had paid the premiums. In October or November, 1964, appellant testified Charles asked her to have the beneficiary changed, and when she asked him why, he told her that he wanted it made over to her and to be the beneficiary, that she had done without things needed to hold the policy, and that if anything happened to him he would know she would help his children any way she could. (There is testimony from respondent in the record that at the time of trial respondent had four children, which would indicate that a child was born of the marriage of Charles and respondent.)

On November 3, 1964, Charles executed a change of beneficiary form prepared by the insured’s agent Pritchett, in which he changed the beneficiary on Policy 214 52 25 to appellant. The Insurance Company endorsed the receipt and filing of the change of beneficiary form on November 10, 1964. As previously stated, Charles was killed in an automobile accident on February 19, 1965, and this litigation over the proceeds of the insurance followed.

An examination of the policy in question clearly shows that it is composed of two parts. The first part is the limited life payment policy number 214 52 25 issued on the life of Charles in the face amount of $4115, which included an accidental death benefit equal to the face amount of the policy. The second part is the “Family Unit Protector,” which has printed thereon: “Supplementary term agreement attached to and made part of the above described policy,” that is, policy 214 52 25. By the terms of the Family Protector Unit supplementary insurance coverage was provided on the lives of respondent and her children. Throughout the contract the word “policy” is used in all references to the limited payment life policy issued on the life of Charles, while throughout the attached Family Unit Protector page the word “agreement” is used in all references to the coverage of respondent and her children. The controversy arose between the parties over the fact that in the limited payment life policy, under the caption “Ownership and Beneficiary Provisions,” the following pertinent provisions appear:

“1. Ownership — During the Insured’s lifetime every right, privilege, power, benefit and option conferred by the policy may be exercised, received and enjoyed by the Owner.
[587]*587“The Insured shall be the Owner unless some other person is designated as the Owner in the policy.
“3. Beneficiary — Beneficiaries may be designated by name or in any other manner allowed by the Company, and shall be numbered by class to indicate their priority. * * *

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
454 S.W.2d 584, 1970 Mo. App. LEXIS 624, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/western-southern-life-insurance-co-v-cash-moctapp-1970.