New Orleans Insurance v. Boniel

Supreme Court of Florida
New Orleans Insurance v. Boniel, 20 Fla. 815 (Fla. 1884)

New Orleans Insurance v. Boniel

Opinion of the Court

The Chief-Justice delivered the opinion of the court.

There is no pretence that there is any testimony in the case showing that when plaintiff applied for the insurance any company was mentioned in which plaintiff desired to have his property insured. Watson was an agent for several fire insurance companies, and Bell, who seems to have been his employe in receiving applications for insurance and forwarding such applications to Watson for his action, and in delivering policies, when the applications were accepted by Watson, and collecting premiums thereon at Warring-ton for Watson, had no other agency in the matter. This general employment of Bell was not in reference to insurance in the defendant company alone but extended to several other companies for which Watson was the agent.

Bell never had any correspondence with defendant on its or his business, and it does not appear that the company had any knowledge of Bell’s connection with Watson or with their business. There is no testimony in the case from which a legitimate inference can be drawn that plaintiff desired to insure his property in this company. The facts were simply that in January, 1882, he took out a policy for $300 on his property in a house at Warrington and $200 on stock of wine, &c., which expired in July. In August he desired to renew it and a policy issued by defendant was tendered shim, but as he failed to pay the premium it was returned to Watson and cancelled. Afterwards in the latter part of September he “ applied to Mr. Bell for insurance to the *819amount of $600 ; $300 on my furniture, wearing apparel, &c., in my dwelling house, (afterwards burned) and $300 on my stock in my saloon.” The property was not in the same house it. was in when the first policy was taken out. And so the conditions being changed the amount of insurance desired being different, and no company being designated, there is no ground for the presumption that this company had entered into any contract to insure the property from the circumstances that they had before that issued a policy to him which had expired and which he manifestly declined to renew. In view of this conclusion it is unnecessary to consider other questions. The verdict was against the evidence and was not warranted by the charge of the court.

Reversed and new trial granted.

Reference

Full Case Name
The New Orleans Insurance Association v. M. A. Boniel
Cited By
5 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
. Plaintiff procured a policy of insurance in defendant association, through an employee of an agent, and after it expired applied for a renewal, but declined to pay the premium and take the renewed policy, and it was cancelled. He afterwards requested the same employee of the same agent to insure Ms property, and paid part of the premium, hut did not specify in what company he desired to be insured, the same agent being the agent of several companies, and no policy was issued. After destruction of the property by fire he paid tlie employee the balance of the premium, hut the agent returned the money, declining to issue a policy. Defendant liad no knowledge that the employee had anything to do with their business. Upon those facts, the plaintiff had no contract for insurance in defendant association.