Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-10-18
LIABILITY OF LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANIES.

In the United States Circuit Court at
Richmond, Va, on the 18th inst, an i'm
portaut decision YVES rendered on the lIabil
ty of life insurance companies Oh policies
that are arbitrarily declared 'lapsed" by the
companies. The case was that of Hancock
vs.. the New York Life Insurance Com
raDy, resulting in 8 verdict Of SI,371 for
the plaintiff. Hancock had insured with
that company previous to the war, and paid
bis premiums punctually. During the war
be offered the accruing premiums to its
agent at Richmond, who declined accepting
them Oh the plea that be could not COM
municSte with the company. Inthe mean
time the company declared the policy
elapsed" because the accruiDg premiums
were not paid, we suppose. This occurring
through no fault OF Hancock, be sued the
company, and after years of litigation, has
obtained verdict in the United States
court, covering all the premiums be paid and
tie interest thereon.
This decision is Of importance to insur-
ance men and to the general public, as prov
iog that corporations cannot establish ar
bitrsry rules for the forfeiture Of policies
without regard to ths equities that may
arise. Too many companies are in the habit
of retaining premiums paid and declaring
policies lspsed where the fault is really with
some agent or the company itself. There
is reason 10 fear that some few companies
at least, lower their rates to the detriment
of honest rivals, by coolly calculating the
amount of income they can thus absorb
"without value received" The facilities af-
forded by the Laws delays for wealthy cor
poration to worry out an injured patron,
give such heartless schemers a great sd
vantage. The case under consideration is
an apt illustration of this, for we presume
that MI. Hancock instituted his suit soon
after the courts were reopened 10 1865, in or
der that his ''equity" might not lapse in law.
So it has taken him eight years to obtain
this verdict. The provision in the Federal
and all our State constitutions guaranteeing
Justice "without delsy' to the humblest cit
izen, is too frequently ignored in our day.
But the most important feature Of this
decision is its direct bearing on the rights
of thousands of others in the Southern
States, who have the same equities as Mr..
Hancock. 1t will be remembered that many
Northern insurance companies, through
technical conditions Of their policies, ruled
off of their books, at one fell swoop, thou
s,nds upon thousands Of their policy hold
ers, at the beginning of the war, who re
sided in the insurrectionary or "traitorous'
Ststes, thereby immensely reducing theil
liabilities and correspondingly increasing
their assets. And of all these thousands
those who survived found their policies
lspsed, by no act of their OVID, and tn
vast sums that they had previously PAID
as premiums gone to swell the Golfers
treache-ous and mercenary corporations
without possibility Of renewal. a few de
cisions like the one rendered, may go Is
to prove that while corporations have NJ
s)uls, they have the same liabilities as ind
yiduals. 1t is satisfactory to learn that tn
public are at last beginning % have thei
rights defined, and that if they comply i
good faith with the contract they can fore
the company to perform its obligations, o.
at the least, to return the money they hay
paid, with interest for its uss'