New York Life Insurance v. Cravens

Citations

• 178 U.S. 389
• 20 S. Ct. 962
• 44 L. Ed. 1116
• 1900 U.S. LEXIS 1687

Syllabus

<p>The contract for life insurance in this case, made by a New York insurance company in the State of Missouri, with a citizen of that State, is subject to the laws of that State regulating life insurance policies, although the policy declares “that the entire contract-contained in the said policy and in this application, taken together, shall be construed and interpreted as a whole and in each of its parts and obligations, according to the laws of the State of New York, the place of the contract being expressly agreed to be the principal office of the said company in the city of New York.”</p> <p>The power of a State over foreign corporations is not less than the power of a State over domestic corporations.</p> <p>The business of insurance is not commerce, and the making of a contract of insurance is a mere incident of commercial intercourse in which there is no difference whatever between insurance against fire, insurance against the perils of the sea, or insurance of life.</p>