Knights of Maccabees of World v. Nelson

Citations

• 77 Kan. 629
• 95 P. 1052
• 1908 Kan. LEXIS 314

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>Fraternal Insurance — By-laws and Subsequent Amendments Made Part of the Contract — Reasonable Amendment. In the written application for membership to an insurance association was the following: “This application and the laws of the supreme tent now in force, or that may hereafter be adopted, are made a part of the contract between myself and the supreme tent, and I, for myself and my beneficiary or beneficiaries, agree to conform to and be governed thereby.” In the -certificate issued to him, in which the association undertook to pay a certain amount to his beneficiary upon his death, occurred the following: “Provided he shall have in every particular complied with the laws, rules and regulations of the order governing members and their beneficiaries which are now in force, or may hereafter be adopted by the supreme tent, or the subordinate tent to which he belongs.” A by-law of the association in force at the time of the issuance of the certificate contained the following: “But no benefit shall be payable on account of the death of any member while engaged in a mob, . . . or by reason of death the result o'f suicide within two years after admission.” Thereafter, and some years before the death of the member, the association regularly amended its by-law to read as follows: “No benefits shall be paid on. account of the death of a member when death was the result of suicide, whether the member taking his own life was sane or insane at the time; provided, that in case of suicide twice the amount of all assessments or month rates paid to the supreme tent by such member shall be paid back to the beneficiary named in the certificate, or to the person found to be entitled to receive the same, which amount shall not exceed the face of the certificate, and such amount shall be the full amount that can be claimed in any such case.” Held, that in such case the amendment to the by-laws is reasonable and is valid, and, a member having come to hi