CLAIM SUCCESSFUL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVIII, Issue 137, 24 May 1928, Page 3

CLAIM SUCCESSFUL

WOMAN SUES INSURANCE CO. RETURN OF A PREMIUM. [Per Press Association.} New Plymouth, May 22. Insurance agents from rival companies. some of them taking notes, were present in numbers in the Supreme Court to-day, when Agnes 0. 11 Hicks, wife of Robert Hicks, of Hawera. succeeded in a claim against the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Company for the return of a premium of £ll3 16/8 paid for a “'‘probate” policy on her life. The agents for the society. F. E. Dejough and H. J. Harnish, were submitted to a searching cross-exam-ination, both by counsel and His Honour. The case for the plaintiff was heard last week, and on the suggestion of Mr. Justice Reed that Hicks had misunderstood the position counsel was granted an adjournment to ascertain whether the company would agree to cancel the proposal. No solution on this basis was reached however, and the hearing of the de. fence was proceeded with to-day. It had been suggested bv Mrs Hicks that the agents had wrongly told her that the amount payable On the policy would cover death and succession duties on the estate of her husband, who was 7'2 years of age, thus protecting her children’s interests. _ When the document arrived it contained no clauses to this effect. The defence was a complete denial of the allegations. After the evidence for the defence had been heard. Mr Justice Reed expressed the opinion that the parties could not be said to be bound by the policy until they had seen and agreed to the conditions on the policy. There was no contract till the plaintiff had seen the policy, read it and decided that she Would accept the conditions. He suggested that the proposal and the policy might be construed as an offer and acceptance respectively. The terms were nnj known to the person concerned until [ the policy actually delivered.