Traveler's Insurance v. Harvey

Citations

• 82 Va. 949
• 5 S.E. 553
• 1885 Va. LEXIS 3

Syllabus

<p>1. Insurance Companies—General agent.—Where addendum to policy requires notice of insured’s change of residence, death, or total disablement by accident, to be given to same agent who writes the policy, settles the terms of insurance, investigates losses, and recommends payment or non-payment, such agent must be deemed a general agent, without regard to extent of territory or scope of powers.</p> <p>.2. Idem— Waiver of conditions—Case at bar.—Clause in policy denying insured’s right to claim “ a waiver by reason of any acts of any agent, unless such waiver is specially authorized in writing over the signature of the president or secretary of the company,” does not extend to those stipulations that are to be performed after a loss occurred, such as giving notice, and furnishing proofs of death.</p> <p>3. Idem—Refusal—Waiver of preliminaries.—When general agent refuses to recognize any claim, such refusal waives compliance with the conditions as to preliminary notice and proof, and authorizes immediate suit.</p> <p>4. Practice at Common Law—Evidence.—As a general rule, it is inadmissible, even where the issue is whether a person did a particular thing, to put in evidence the fact that he did a similar thing at some other time.</p> <p>-5. Idem—Instructions—Case at bar.—It is not error to refuse the instructions asked for by defendant below, to wit: 5. because it was misleading; 6. because it was not pertinent to any evidence in the cause; and 7, 8 and 9. because mainly wrong in principle, and because that which was material in them was substantially covered by 10, given by the court of its own motion. The instructions asked for by plaintiff below correctly propound the law, and are pertinent to the facts.</p> <p>6. Appellate Court—Harmless error.—Where this court cannot see that a party objecting to the admission of evidence would be injured thereby, it will not reverse a judgment on account of such admission, though it may have been erroneous, and vice versa. Johns