New York Life Insurance v. McIntosh

Mississippi Supreme Court April 15, 1905

New York Life Insurance v. McIntosh, 86 Miss. 236 (Miss. 1905)

Ooxj

Opinion of the Court

OoXj J\,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The learned chancellor erred in finding that appellant agreed or contracted with appellee’s testator to issue a policy of insurance upon his life in accordance with his written application. It refused his application for a standard policy, and offered him a policy of a lower class. This was declined by him. Appellant then decided to offer him another policy, *241which, while better than the one declined by him, was not the policy for which he had applied. He died before he had an opportunity to determine whether he would accept it. Thus it is perfectly evident that the minds of the parties never met, and that no contract for insurance was ever effected.

Reversed and remanded.

Reference

Full Case Name: New York Life Insurance Company v. Mary McIntosh
Cited By: 7 cases
Status: Published
Syllabus: 1. Contracts. Meeting of the minds. Insurance. Propositions and counter propositions do not make a contract; ■before either party is bound, the proposition of one of them must be accepted by the other exactly as proposed; there must be a meeting of the minds on the same thing; and this is true of insurance as of other contracts. 2. Same. Concrete case. Where plaintiff’s deceased husband applied for a life policy, paid the amount of the first annual premium, and obtained a receipt, which the company agreed to accept as cash in payment of the first premium, and, if the policy was not issued within sixty days, the amount paid would be returned on surrender of the receipt to the company ; and the policy applied for was not issued, but a different policy tendered and refused, and, after certain further evidence of insurability was furnished, a more favorable policy was sent to insurer’s agent to be tendered, but, insured being sick at the time, it was never delivered, and insured died soon after, these facts did not establish a meeting of minds, and no contract of insurance was ever effected.