. I 

THE ATTBECNEY GENERAL 

CDPT~C~AS 

cxz*wFORD c. .XARTIN AUSTIN,TEXAR 78711 

A-l-rORNEY GENERaI. 

July 13, 1972 

Honorable Robert S. Calvert 

Comptroller of Public Accounts 

State Finance Building 

Austin, Texas 78711 

Dear Mr. Calvert: 

Opinion No. M- 1170 

Re: Authority of Comptroller 

to issue warrant for state’s 

matching funds for employees’ life insurance under 

circumstances pres~ented. 

Your recent opinion request involving the above captioned matter, 

asks whether you now have “authority to issue a warrant to pay the State’s 

matching for life insurance for employees prior to the issuance of a group 

policy to the Water Quality Board? ‘I 

You have stated that on or about May 1, 1972, the Texas Water 

Quality Board submitted accounts which appeared to you from your examination were issued for life insurance to employees of the Board by 

the Tennessee Life Insurance Company and such did not involve a “group 

policy ‘I in contemplation of Articles 3. 50 and 3. 51 of the Texas Insurance 

Code. Your basis for this objection was apparently that on the face of the 

policy it was not shown to have been issued to the department and therefore could not have satisfied the provisions of Article 3. 51, wherein only 

the department head has the authority to procure the contracts of insurance. 

Attorney General Opinion No. M- 1109 ( 1972. ) 

You also advise that since the date of your objection and refusal to 

pay the State’s matching part, your objection has been corrected to your 

satisfaction and you now find that the Board has the proper policy for the 

payment of the insurance premiums involved. You now desire to know 

whether you can legally pay the State’s matching part for the account to 

cover the period for which submitted, that is, for that, time prior to the 

correction of the policy. 

We have before us Tennessee Life Insurance Company Policy No. 

2357, dated December 22, 1971, signed by Hugh Yantis, Executive Director 

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Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 2 (M-1170) 

of the Texas Water Quality Board, effective January 1, 1972, which was 

the policy under which the permanent life insurance was issued to the 

employees and supported the accounts which were found by you to be objectionable as above recited. The employees had been issued separate 

certificates which constituted a part of the group policy. 

A close examination of the policy and certificates reveal that they 

are subject to no legal objection and were and are at all times in order, 

and you had and have authority to pay the state’s portion of the same for 

the period in question. 

The other account submitted to you for payment involved the group 

health and term life insurance policy of the Tennessee Life Insurance Company, being Policy No. 2358, issued and to become effective simultaneously 

with the other policy. It was also signed by the Executive Director of the 

Department and no legal objection is found to such policy, and you have had 

authority to make payments for the employees at all relevant times. 

The so-called corrective action taken by the insurance company was 

to amend the Policy Certificate No. 2358 so as to eliminate two numerical 

designations of the policy; and for accounting purposes Certificate No. 2358 

is also identified as No. 2357, thereby eliminating the dual numerical designations to which we understand you had an objection. Such corrections relate back to the inception of the policies. 

The amount due under such policies from the employees was in fact 

deducted from their pay checks, and the insurance company has at all times 

recognized its liability and paid its claims, and has at all times requested 

payment of the amount due it. The company has at all times recognized that 

the policies are in full force and effect and in any event is estopped in law 

to deny liability under its policies on the ground of alleged non-compliance 

with the statute. Great American Indemnity Co. v. Blakey, 107 S. W. 2d 

1002 (Tex. Civ. App. 1937, error dism. ); Dillard v. Nueces County Navigation Dist. No. 1, etc., 214 Fed. Supp. 868 (S. D. Dist. 1963. ) 

It is our opinion that you have authority to issue your warrant to pay 

the state’s matching for the life insurance for the employees of the Texas 

Water Quality Board for the period of time in question, there being a legally 

enforceable group policy covering the insurance at all relevant times, and 

such purpose being specified by law. 

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Honorable Robert S. Calvert, page 3 (M-1170) 

SUMMARY 

The Comptroller of Public Accounts has authority 

to issue his warrant for payment of the accounts in question 

for the period involved, as submitted by the Texas Water 

Quality Board, being the state’s matching part on the two 

insurance policies issued by the Tennessee Life Insurance 

company, since the policies in question were at all relevant times group policies within the contemplation of Articles 3. 50 and 3. 51, Texas Insurance Code, and for a 

proper purpose specified by law. 

Y”YY very truly, 

Prepared by Kerns Taylor 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

W. E. Allen, Acting Chairman 

James Hackney 

Jack Goodman 

James Quick 

Jim Swearingen 

John Banks 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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