Pierce v. People

Citations

• 106 Ill. 11
• 1883 Ill. LEXIS 136

Syllabus

<p>1. Foreign insurance companies—power of the State to prescribe a penalty against cm agent of a company which has not complied with the statute. Section 22, of the general Insurance law of 1869, so far as it provides a penalty against any agent of a foreign insurance company for acting for such company without a certificate of authority from the Auditor showing it has complied with the requisitions of the act, and declares that any person aiding, in any manner, in transacting the insurance business of such company shall be subject to such penalty, is a constitutional and valid law.</p> <p>2. It is competent for the legislature to declare all contracts of insurance made by a citizen of this State with a foreign insurance company having no right to do business here, void, on the ground of being contrary to the public policy of the State; and in furtherance of the same object, the legislature may declare it a penal offence for any one to do anything here, whether acting on behalf of the insurer or insured, by way of aiding in effecting 'insurance in such companies not qualified to do such business under our laws.</p> <p>3. Same—as to the place where the contract may be made, as affecting the liability of the agent here. So far as concerns the liability of the agent acting in this State, to the penalty prescribed, it matters not where the eon-tract of insurance may be made. The evil intended to be reached by the act was not merely the making of such contracts in this State. What the legislature desired to accomplish was to prevent them being made at all.</p> <p>4. Same—whether a person is to he regarded as the agent of the company or of the assured. In this case, upon the question whether a person acting in the matter of procuring property in this State to be insured by a foreign insurance company was acting as the agent of the company or of the assured, it was considered, on the facts appearing, that he should be regarded as the agent of the insurance company, and as