Continental Insurance v. Ruckman

Citations

• 127 Ill. 364
• 20 N.E. 77

Syllabus

<p>1. Insurance—proofs of loss—waiver of defects therein. Where proof of loss has been served upon and retained by the insurance company, without objection, and the company refuses to pay the loss, placing its refusal upon some ground other than defects in the proof, any further performance of the condition in the policy in relation to proofs will be regarded as waived, and the company will be estopped, in an action on its policy, from making any formal objections to the proofs.</p> <p>2. Same—insurance agents—general agents—of their powers, and who so considered. General agents of an insurance company, in the matter of settling contracts of insurance and issuing policies, will be presumed to have competent authority to stipulate for the insertion in the policy, that the building insured may remain vacant and unoccupied for a prescribed time. As to the exercise of powers within the apparent purview of their agency, the company will be bound by their acts, unless there were, in fact, limitations upon their authority, of which the assured had notice.</p> <p>3. Where a foreign insurance company appoints A and B its local agents in a particular locality, and supplies them with blank policies properly signed by the company, which such agents are authorized to fill up, countersign and deliver to the assured, this will constitute them general agents of the company in the matter of soliciting and accepting risks, agreeing upon and settling the terms of insurance, and carrying the same into effect by issuing the policies.</p> <p>4. Same—limitation in policy, as to powers of agent—construed. A clause in a policy of insurance, that “it is further understood and made a part of this contract, that the agent of this company has no authority to waive, modify or strike from this policy any of its printed conditions,” does not operate as a limitation of the agent’s authority in agreeing upon and settling the terms of the contract. It is a limitation upon the powers of the agent to w