76 Mo. App. 562 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1898
This action is based on a policy or certificate of life insurance whereby defendant agreed to pay to plaintiff the sum of $2,000 upon the death of Goda M. Elliott. The judgment in the circuit court was for plaintiff.
We must therefore look to the terms of the contract in order to determine what character of company defendant is. By the terms of the face of the contract, quarterly payments were to be paid to the company o£ $7.30 in'the months of January, April, July and October, for a period of five years. And by the terms of a provision on the back of the contract and made a part thereof, the assured could by giving sixty days notice continue the terms aforesaid indefinitely. There would seem therefore to be no room for question that if the assured so elected, the policy would continue on the fixed annual premium of $29.20 payable in quarterly payments of $7.30 each. It was such fixed annual premium for the first five years by the express terms of the policy and it continued so at the election of the assured. But by the terms of the policy (if the assured did not elect to continue the payment of the fixed quarterly payment above mentioned) at the end of the first five years, the payments thereafter would be made quarterly, “but will be reduced to the expense element and mortuary requirements, provided, that the total payments made in any one year shall not be less than $14.50, and provided further that in the event that the total payments required in any one year exceed $29, the safety fund shall be used to pay such excess.”
Under these somewhat singular provisions, construed together, it must be said that the policy, by its terms, was one of general life insurance.
It is argued however that the by-laws of the company cover the points which have been suggested above and that they provide for assessments upon all policy holders in such manner as to fix the amount each should pay in order to meet mortuary expense as each death may occur. It is sufficient to say of this that the contract of insurance does not make the by-laws of the company a part of the contract. The policy (as has been stated) provides that certain provisions on the back thereof shall be a part of the contract and these provisions while embodying terms we have set out omit any reference to assessment of members. On the other hand the policy, front and back, is complete in itself and excludes the idea that it is controlled by matters aliunde. If the by-laws were to have govern
In our opinion the circuit court correctly interpreted the terms of the policy and the judgment will therefore be affirmed.