Freedman v. Providence Washington Insurance

Citations

• 175 Pa. 350
• 34 A. 730
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 1257

Syllabus

<p>Insurance — Fire insurance — Proof of loss — Waiver—Evidence.</p> <p>Waiver of the proofs of loss may be inferred from acts of the insurer which show either a recognition or a denial of liability exclusively on other grounds. Waiver is essentially a matter of intention, and to establish it there must be some declaration or act from which the insured may reasonably infer that the insurer does not mean to insist upon a right which, because of a change of position induced thereby, it would be inequitable to enforce.</p> <p>At the trial of an action upon a policy of fire insurance, the insurance company set up as a defense misrepresentations as to the ownership of the goods. The plaintiff claimed a waiver of the fraud. The evidence showed that at a time when the agent of the company was trying to adjust the loss, he specified no particular ground of defense. He made inquiries as to the extent of the loss, the value of the' • goods destroyed, and proposed a settlement. When this was refused he notified the plaintiff to go on and make out her proofs of loss; and, after the proofs were made out, he called her attention to a formal defect in them. Held, (1) that he did nothing to mislead her, to place her in a worse position or cause her to incur any expense which she would not have been obliged to incur had he remained silent; (2) that the evidence was insufficient to show an intention to waive any ground of defense.</p>