UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOC'Y V. CLEMENTS, 140 U. S. 226 (1891)
140 U. S. 226U.S. Supreme Court
Equitable Life Assurance Soc'y v. Clements, 140 U.S. 226 (1891)
Equitable Life Assurance Society v. Clements
No. 340
Argued April 23-24, 1891
Decided May 11, 1891
140 U.S. 226
ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
Syllabus
A policy of insurance, executed in New York by a New York corporation doing business in Missouri, upon an application signed in Missouri by a resident of Missouri, made part of the contract, and declaring that it "shall not take effect until the first premium shall have been actually paid during the life of the person proposed for assurance," and which is delivered, and the first premium paid, in Missouri, is, in the absence of evidence of the company's acceptance of the application in New York, a Missouri contract, and governed by the laws of Missouri.
The Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1879, §§ 5983-5986, establish a rule of commutation upon default in payment of premium after two premiums have been paid on a policy of life insurance, which cannot be varied or waived by express provision in the contract except in the cases specified in those statutes.