Equitable Life Assur. Society of United States v. Keiper

Citations

• 165 F. 595
• 91 C.C.A. 433
• 1908 U.S. App. LEXIS 4786

Syllabus

<p>1. Insurance (§ 291*) — Like Insurance-Warranty.</p> <p>Where an application for life insurance provided that all the statements and answers therein wore warranted 1o bo true, the insured warranted the truth of the statements therein contained concerning Ms history, as to whether he had previously suffered any serious diseases except diseases incident to childhood.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — For oilier cases, see Insurance, Cent. Dig. §§ 881-090; Dec. Dig. § 291.*]</p> <p>2. Insurance (§ 291*) — Warranties—Breach—“Serious Illness.”</p> <p>Insured applied for insurance October 10, 1006, and in his application warranted that he had not had any serious illness or disease, except diseases incident to childhood. It was proved that in 1901 he fell violently ill, so that for a time his physicians expected him to die with what they then diagnosed as hemorrhagic pancreatitis. He suffered from acute pains in the abdomen, and was for some time in a state of collapse; was attended by two physicians and a trained nurse, ami recovered after five or six weeks. This sickness followed a chronic stomach trouble with which on several occasions he had been ill. Held, that such sickness was a “serious illness,” and constituted a breach of warranty.</p> <p>[Ed. Note. — Por other cases, see Insurance, Cent. Dig. §§ 689-690; Dec. Dig. § 291* .</p> <p>Por other definitions, see Words and Phrases, vol. 7, pp. 6421, 6422.]</p> <p>3. Insurance (§ 291*) — 'Life Insurance — Misstatements — “Material to Risk.”</p> <p>Act Pa. June 23, 1885 (P. L. 134), provides that, whenever an application for life insurance contains a clause of warranty of the truth of the matters therein contained, no misrepresentation or untrue statement in such application made in good faith by the applicant shall work a forfeiture or defense, unless it relates to some matter material to the risk. Held, that a misstatement as to insured’s previous history is material to the risk, if a disclosure is necessary and material to the i