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Insurance—Conflict Of Interests—Bad Faith Of Insurer, Myron J. Carlson Aug 1953

Insurance—Conflict Of Interests—Bad Faith Of Insurer, Myron J. Carlson

Washington Law Review

P, the insured under a public liability insurance policy with D, had been sued by an injured party; one of the grounds alleged for recovery was expressly excepted by the terms of the policy. D insisted on its policy right to control the defense and also to withdraw and disclaim all liability if at the trial the loss was found to be outside the policy coverage. P objected to the reservation of rights by D, pointing out that it would be to D's interest at the trial to allow proof of the loss on grounds outside the policy coverage and …

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Insurance—Endowment Policy Disbursement—Testamentary Or Contractual, Ivor Lusty Feb 1953

Insurance—Endowment Policy Disbursement—Testamentary Or Contractual, Ivor Lusty

Washington Law Review

S, owner of a fully paid endowment life policy, elected Option 1 as a method of settlement. This gave him a lifetime access to the principal sum and interest, the right to name distributees for the residue, if any, at his death, but withheld the right to change the distributees once named. P, executor of S's estate, claims the residue from D, the insurer, contending the Option 1 agreement to be in violation of the Statute of Wills. The trial court found for D. On appeal, Held: Affirmed. Toulouse v. New York Life Insurance Co., 40 Wn. 2d 538, 245 …

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Injury By Accidental Means And The Effect Of Disease In Accident Insurance Policies, Jennings P. Felix May 1947

Injury By Accidental Means And The Effect Of Disease In Accident Insurance Policies, Jennings P. Felix

Washington Law Review

A troublesome problem in the field of accident insurance is the interpretation of the phrase "by accidental means" and the effect of pre-existing disease upon a case involving this interpretation. The decisions vary, not only from state to state but often within the same jurisdiction. This confused state' of case law results from the innumerable variety of fact patterns considered; and is due, in part, to the well-recognized sympathy of jurors toward widows and orphans who comprise the largest class of beneficiaries. The cases exemplify two main views, each supported by considerable authority.

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The Duty To Read An Insurance Policy In Washington, Willard J. Wright Nov 1939

The Duty To Read An Insurance Policy In Washington, Willard J. Wright

Washington Law Review

Washington follows this general contract rule but the court appears willing to mollify its hardship in some instances by liberally construing the term "fraud". Thus in Stone v. Moody the plaintiffs signed a contract without reading it and the court allowed them a recission on the ground that the contract contained such an "unconscionable" clause that it was plain the plaintiffs would never have agreed to it if they had known of it. Unless it can be said that the defendant—who read the contract to the plaintiffs and omitted to read the clause in question—induced the plaintiffs not to read …

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The Presumption Of Death From Absence As Affecting The Statute Of Limitations And The Nonpayment Of Premiums In Life Insurance Cases, Kenneth Cox Nov 1939

The Presumption Of Death From Absence As Affecting The Statute Of Limitations And The Nonpayment Of Premiums In Life Insurance Cases, Kenneth Cox

Washington Law Review

The doctrine that seven years' unexplained absence from home will raise a presumption that the missing person is dead has proved a troublesome one to apply in the insurance cases in which, modernly, it is chiefly called into play. As long as it is merely employed to establish the death of a missing spouse, in order to allow remarriage by the survivor, or in order to permit the distribution of the missing person's estate, or in many of the other situations where it is relied upon to establish the fact of death, the courts have little difficulty with the presumption. …

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Life Insurance Proceeds As Community Property, Russell V. Hokanson Nov 1938

Life Insurance Proceeds As Community Property, Russell V. Hokanson

Washington Law Review

The past year has witnessed the closing by judicial decision of two important gaps in the Washington community property law, both relating to life insurance proceeds. The first case in point of time, Occidental Life Insurance Company v. Powers, announced the rule that where the husband changes the beneficiary of a life insurance policy which is the property of the community because issued on the life of the husband during marriage and paid for with community funds, without the consent or knowledge of the wife, the former beneficiary, the attempted gift by the husband is ineffective and the wife may …

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Intent To Deceive In Applications For Insurance Policies, Leo D. Bloch Apr 1935

Intent To Deceive In Applications For Insurance Policies, Leo D. Bloch

Washington Law Review

In any type of insurance, the determination of the insurance company to assume the risk with regard to any particular person or thing is based on the application submitted by the person desiring the insurance. It is through the medium of the application that the company secures the information which it desires with regard to the particular risk. Logically, therefore, the insurance company should be protected if incorrect statements are made in the application. On the other hand, the insured is entitled to be protected by the insurance when he has been paying premiums and basing his conduct on the …

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Status Of The Proceeds Of Life Insurance Under The Community Property System, Fred W. Catlett Apr 1930

Status Of The Proceeds Of Life Insurance Under The Community Property System, Fred W. Catlett

Washington Law Review

The vast and increasing amount of money invested in policies of life insurance in the states having a community property system makes the status of the proceeds of such policies under that system of very general interest, and renders it highly desirable and important that the laws as to such contracts should be worked out with dispatch, definiteness and certainty The fact that there are in the community property states different theories as to the character and extent of the wife's interest and different statutes affecting the determination of the rights of the spouses has led to somewhat varying results. …

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The Insurance Commissioner In The United States, By Edwin Wilhite Patterson (1927), Vernon A. Mund May 1928