102 Wash. 180 | Wash. | 1918
The plaintiff, being the beneficiary named in a life insurance policy, brought this action upon the policy. After the issues were framed, the cause in due time came on for trial before the court and a jury. At the conclusion of the plaintiff’s evidence, the defendant challenged the legal sufficiency thereof and moved the court for a judgment of dismissal. This motion was sustained, and a judgment entered as requested. From this judgment, the plaintiff appeals.
The policy contained a provision that all premiums were payable on or before the due date at the home office of the company, or to an agent of the company upon delivery of a receipt signed by the president or other specified officer of the company and countersigned by the agent. When the $185 was paid by the beneficiary, she received no receipt therefor as required by this provision of the policy. Another provision of the policy was that the premium was always considered as payable annually in advance, but by
In § 180 of the insurance code (ch. 49, Laws of 1911, p. 260; Rem. Code, § 6059-180), it is provided that no life insurance company doing business in this state, or agent, subagent, or broker thereof, shall make
“any contract of insurance or agreement as to such contract, other than is plainly expressed in the policy . M • * * ?
According to subdivision (3) of § 184, p. 261 (Rem. Code, § 6059-184) it is provided that a life insurance policy such as the one upon which this action is based must contain a provision that the policy and the application therefor “shall constitute the entire contract between the parties . . . ” This law was passed prior to the time that the application for the insurance here involved was taken. It is not claimed that the policy in any respect fails to meet the requirements of the statute. From what has already been said, it appears : First, that the full premium was not paid in advance as required by the terms of the policy; and second, that it was paid to the soliciting agent, who had no
Upon the trial, the appellant offered in evidence two provisions of the contract between the company and the soliciting agent, but did not offer the entire contract, and for this reason the offer was rejected. There was no error in this ruling. The powers of the soliciting agent could only be determined by a reading of the entire contract. In addition to this, the provisions offered, if received, would not have changed the result, as the agent’s authority was not substantially different from that specified in the policy.
The judgment will be affirmed.
Ellis, C. J., Parker, Fullerton, and Webster, JJ., concur.