Insurance

“ The fine print in your insurance policy can cost you your coverage. Eighty-one million Americans have those preexisting conditions, just like the little boy in Nashua, that insurance companies can use to raise rates or deny coverage and that as a practical matter prevent many, many people from changing jobs because they know they'll lose their coverage. ”

“ The object for which insurance exists is to guard against certain accidents to which we are all liable, such as the destruction of property by fire, or the loss of future earnings by disablement or death. An agreement is entered into by which one party, known as the insurer or assurer, agrees to pay to another, called the insured or assured, a certain sum in the event of the particular event insured against happening.
The document which states the conditions of this agreement is called the policy, and the payment made on account of the insurance is known as the premium. ”

“ Personal insurance is that which indemnifies the beneficiary for loss of income as the result of various happenings to persons, the chief being death, accident, sickness, invalidity, old age, and unemployment. The principle of insurance is being constantly extended to new subjects [2] and it is capable of further development in a variety of directions. ”

“ An insurance upon life is defined as "a contract by which the underwriter, for a certain sum proportioned to the age, health, profession, and other circumstances of the person whose life is the object of insurance, engages that that person shall not die within the time limited in the policy ”

“ XII. The insurance of any goods, &c. in this society, which shall be insured in any other office at the same time, to be void: And yet such insurer shall be liable to his covenants. Nevertheless a liberty is given to insure in any other office, so as such other insurance is indorsed on this society’s policy, and subscribed by two of the trustees, for which 6d. per cent. is to be paid; and in which case a proportionable part of any loss is to be paid by this society. ”

“ It seems to us equally clear that no distinction can be drawn between the case just supposed and that of insurance; for the policy of insurance in cases of total loss is analogous to a contract of sale, by which the ship, or what remains of her, or the hope of her recovery, become. on the happening of the contingency, the property of the insurer, and the insurance money payable, the price, as upon a conveyance. ”

“ Has any proposal or application to insure your life been made to any company, association, or agent on which a policy of insurance is now pending? Or has any such proposal or application ever been made for which insurance has not been granted, or on which a policy or certificate of insurance was not issued in full amount, and of the same kind as applied for? ”

“ The eighth section of the charter provides that the rates of insurance shall be fixed and regulated by the company; and premium notes therefor shall be received from the insured, and shall be paid at such time or times and in such sum or sums as the company shall from time to time require; and any person applying for insurance, so electing, may pay a cash premium, in addition to a premium note, or a definite sum in money, to be fixed by the company, in full of said insurance and in lieu of a premium note. ”

“ In determining the liabilities upon its contracts of insurance of any insurance company other than life insurance, and the amount such company should hold as a reserve for reinsurance, he shall, for casualty insurance companies, charge one half of the premium on all annual policies written within one year, and on policies written for more than one year he shall charge one half of the current year's premiums, plus the whole of the premiums for subsequent years. ”

“ But they were of opinion that the “whole system of insurance law requires complete revision, for not only does it allow the assured, in some cases, to recover more than the amount of the loss actually sustained by him, but it also, on the other hand, deprives him of an indemnity in cases in which he ought to be protected by his insurance.” ”

“ The modern policy provides that it shall be void if the insured "now has or shall hereafter make or procure any other contract of insurance, whether valid or not, on property covered in whole or in part by this policy." If the insured effects other insurance he must not forget to obtain consent of the insurer, and should he forget his good intention will not preserve his policy. ”

“ Such is the form of the contract, and such is its character. It has been contended that the payment of each premium is the consideration for insurance during the next following year,-as in fire policies. But the position is untenable. It often happens that the assured pays the entire premium in advance, or in five, ten, or twenty annual instalments. ”

“ Old-age insurance has been obligatory since 1889 upon practically all laborers and officials paid under $500 a year and the right to insure voluntarily is extended to others. The employer is held responsible for the insurance of everyone and deducts the workman’s share of the premium from his wages. In 1910 some 14,000,000 out of a population of 60,000,000 were thus insured.176 The obligation to insure begins with the 17th year and a percentage of the wages must be paid for 1200 weeks. ”

“ If the assured, by his voluntary act, increases the risk, and the fact is not known, the result is that he gets an insurance for which he has not paid.' And again: 'An increase of risk which is substantial, and which is continued for a considerable period of time, changes the basis upon which the contract of insurance rests ”

“ While its several branches, such as life insurance, casualty insurance and others, have each had an independent and characteristic development, all these together form an institution peculiar to the modern world, the origin and growth of which attest a remarkable change in men’s ideas and habits of thought.
The simplest and most general conception of insurance is a provision made by a group of persons, each singly in danger of some loss, the incidence of which cannot be foreseen, that when such loss shall occur to any of them it shall be distributed over the whole group. ”

“ Washington Insurance Co., 4 Cow. (N. Y.) 645, the rule was applied in a case where the agent was authorized to make insurances, 'provided the office shall recognize the rate of premium, and be otherwise satisfied with the risk.' It was held that the company was bound to issue a policy where the insurance was a proper one and the premium was paid or tendered, although before the premium was received at the home office the property was consumed by fire. ”

“ These circumstances gave the nephew such an interest in the life of the insured as to prevent the policy from being a wager one. The insurance effected was from the 9th of March, 1867, and the policy recited the payment of the first annual premium on that day, and stipulated for the payment of the subsequent premiums on the same day of that month each year. The payment of the insurance money, after notice and proof of the death of the insured, was made dependent upon the punctual payment, each year, of the premium. ”

“ To indulge in outdoor life, the townships of Darlington and East and West Whitby were traversed by me as sub-agent for a farmers’ insurance company. There was not much difficulty in securing renewals of policies, but it was uphill work to get new business. The general excuse for refusal to insure was that Mr. Farmer had been insured before and had never made anything out of it. My throat used to get dry as a tin horn in trying to explain that the company couldn’t exactly guarantee a “blaze”, but the insurance policy was to protect the insure in case of fire. ”

“ It is well known that the business of insurance is entered upon with the expectation that the premiums received will pay all losses and yield a profit to the insurance in addition; and yet, without any showing that the business did not result in a profit to these insurance claimants, it is proposed that the Government shall indemnify them against the precise risks they undertook, notwithstanding the fact that the money appropriated is not to be paid except "by way of gratuity—payments as of grace and not of right." ”

“ Thus assessment insurance has gradually placed itself upon a higher and more scientific basis, until it has commended itself to the most intelligent and thoughtful, and in its wonderful growth outstripped its older and less popular rival, until its obligations to the families of the insured exceed those of level premium insurance to the amount of about two thousand millions of dollars. ”

“ Chief Justice Brickell, delivering the unanimous judgment of that court, said:
'In all contracts of insurance there is a implied understanding or agreement that the risks insured against are such as the thing insured, whether it is property or health or life, is usually subject to, and the assured cannot voluntarily and intentionally vary them. ”

“ The preliminary arrangements for the amount and conditions of insurance are in a great majority of instances made by agents. It is always so where the insurance is effected out of the State where the company is incorporated and has its principal place of business. ”

“ In these circumstances you will no doubt be persuaded of the desirability of sending me the premium forthwith, in order to effect an insurance which has your Lessors' approval. It possible that the office you name would give you credit for so much of is the premium as is proportionate to the risk unexpired. ”

“ An employee may elect insurance under the policy by completing any form of pay roll deduction order approved by the employer. Each employee electing the insurance before becoming eligible will be insured automatically on the day he becomes eligible. On the effective date of the policy and on each annual renewal date an average annual premium rate will be established. The employer shall give the insurer notice of terminations of insurance and additions of employees becoming eligible. ”

“ It is important, therefore, that the whole question of insurance be given at an early date that careful consideration which it surely merits, in order that there may be placed upon our statute books an effective and comprehensive insurance law which will cover insurance of every kind and give our policyholders every possible protection. ”

“ On the other hand, the average man is convinced that there is, and so certainly is the man who takes out a policy of accident insurance. It is his reading of the policy that is to be accepted as our guide, with the help of the established rule that ambiguities and uncertainties are to be resolved against the company. ”

“ Assessment insurance instructed by the experience of life companies, adjusts its plans and methods upon the natural basis of fact, and not the artificial one of supposition. It tabulates its rates according to the combined experience of all American companies, requiring the insured to pay a sum proportionate to the amount assured, and to his life expectancy. ”

“ And if any person or persons shall insure his or their buildings or goods, and shall cause the same to be described in the policy otherwise than as they really are, so as the same be charged as a lower premium than would otherwise be demanded, such insurance shall be of no force. ”

“ If the insured amount substantially exceeds the value of the subject-matter of a insurance contract, the insurer or the policyholder may demand a reduction of the premium and of the insured amount: Provided, That the reduction of the premium shall be effective for the future. ”

“ Perhaps no modern commercial enterprise directly affects so many persons in all walks of life as does the insurance business. Insurance touches the home, the family, and the occupation or the business of almost every person in the United States. ”

“ The assured assumes the risk of paying premiums during the life on which the insurance is taken, even though their aggregate amount should exceed the insurance money. He also takes the risk of the forfeiture of his policy if the premiums are not paid on the day they fall due. ”

“ In an ordinary life assurance or endowment assurance contract the policyholder has the knowledge that either he or his dependents are assured of the payment of a sum on the occurrence of an event that must happen. In the various forms of insurance, such as fire insurance, marine insurance, accident insurance or burglary insurance, the policyholder pays a premium in order to be insured against a contingency which, if he is an honest man, he hopes will never occur. ”

“ In this respect also, several societies grant policies of insurance for certain premiums: and, though our limits do not allow us minutely to specify the rules and rates of computation which different associations have adopted, yet we think it will be useful to exhibit a few particulars relative to the premiums paid by persons, who insure either their own lives, or those of others in which they have a certain interest. ”

“ In an insurance community in which resources have been pooled for the purpose of life and property insurance against various kinds of risk or loss, insurees who pool resources to insure themselves against the same or related kinds of risk or loss shall form separate risk communities and shall pool resources in separate insurance funds covering these losses. ”

“ By Tuesday morning you will be able to collect on my life insurance. The proofs are complete. Yes, and genuine too. The doctor, the undertaker, the guides, all honestly believe I’m the corpse, and it does resemble me wonderfully. Lord, but I’ve sweated in working it out! By Tuesday, I say, those [Pg 36] Insurance Companies will be satisfied, and they pay promptly, for the bigger the claim the better the advertisement. But if they delay, the fact of my death will tie up those devils who are trying to down me, for a few days at least. ”