Court Opinion

ID: 9546240
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:26:33.905899+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:16:11.444629
License: Public Domain

SHEPARD, Justice,
dissenting.
I disagree with both the conclusion of the majority and its reasoning process and therefore I dissent.
Norman Mitchell, the deceased, was the insured under a “Certificate of Accidental Death Insurance” insuring against specified loss “resulting directly and independently of all other causes from bodily injuries caused by accident occurring while this policy is in force as to the Applicant Member, herein called such injuries.” His wife, Betty Jane Mitchell, was the named beneficiary of said policy. The policy itself named additional classes of beneficiaries, including children, if “there is no surviving designated beneficiary.”
Norman Mitchell was murdered. I believe that, from the viewpoint of the decedent such death was accidental and therefore there was coverage under the broad terms of the policy. There is no allegation that Betty Jane Mitchell “committed” or “threatened to commit” bodily injury against her husband. Rather, Betty Jane Mitchell was convicted of first degree murder in the death of her husband in that she had conspired and planned that others should commit the murder of her husband.
Apparently the question involved is misperceived either by the majority or by me. The insurance carrier wrote into the policy an exclusion stating that, “This policy does not cover loss caused by or resulting from ... Any intentional act by a beneficiary or a member of the Member’s household to commit or threaten to commit bodily injury to the Member.” It is arguable under that exclusion that there is no coverage under the policy, so that the argument regarding beneficiaries simply would not arise. It is arguable that the carrier meant to exclude from risk any coverage arising from a death caused by bodily injury “committed” by a designated beneficiary or family member. Such a restricted coverage, unless otherwise prohibited by statute, appears widely accepted, i.e., the present policy is restricted to “accidental” death and hence there is no coverage for a death resulting from suicide, illness, disease, or similar causes. Other examples of restricted coverage might be circumscription of risk by issuance of a policy covering the insured only when a passenger on a particular commercial airline flight. Although an insurance carrier may limit its risk coverage through an exclusion, it must do so in language clearly accomplishing such purpose and since an insurance contract is a contract of adhesion all ambiguities in the contract will be construed against the insurance carrier.
In the instant case I would hold that the insurance carrier has not clearly excluded the risk presented by the circumstances of the instant case. The record before us does not demonstrate that the beneficiary did “commit” or “threaten to commit” bodily injury. The language of I.C. § 15-2-803, “ ‘Slayer’ shall mean any person who participates, either as principal or as an accessory before the fact, in the wilful and unlawful killing of any other person,” demonstrates that language is available to exclude a risk such as is presented by the case at hand.
Since the risk was not excluded, and since the policy provides coverage, the only question is who should receive the face amount of the policy. It is my view that our slayer statute, I.C. § 15-2-803, is a bar to the claim of Betty Jane Mitchell as the designated beneficiary. Subsection (j)(l) of said statute provides, that, in the case of *1010the beneficiary’s having participated in the homicide of the insured:
“Insurance proceeds payable to the slayer as the beneficiary or assignee of any policy or certificate of insurance on the life of the decedent, or as the survivor of a joint life policy, shall be paid instead to the estate of the decedent, unless the policy or certificate designate some person other than the slayer or his estate as secondary beneficiary to him and in which case such proceeds shall be paid to such secondary beneficiary in accordance with the applicable terms of the policy.”
The policy at issue provides:
“Indemnity will be payable in a lump sum to the beneficiary of record, who shall be the beneficiary designated in writing and on file with the Bank Sponsor. If, at the death of the Member, there is no surviving designated beneficiary, the indemnity shall be payable in one sum to the first surviving class of the following classes of beneficiaries ... (3) child or children ...”
As is well pointed out by the dissent of Bistline, J., the slayer statute also contains the language, “The slayer shall be deemed to have predeceased the decedent ...”
I would hold that the policy in question does provide coverage for the death of the decedent, the slayer statute prohibits the wife as designated beneficiary from obtaining the proceeds of the policy and as a matter of law establishes that she has predeceased the insured and, pursuant to the policy provisions, the proceeds should be paid to the surviving children, the plaintiffs in the instant case. I would affirm the decision of the district court in its entirety.