the insured was driving in a carriage, his horse became frightened and ran away, but was brought under control by the insured before any damage was done. Through fright and the violent exertions on the part of the insured in restraining the horse, the insured suffered so severely that he died within an hour. It was decided that his death was caused by external means within the terms of the policy."

5. The term violent, as used in this connection, means a little more than the exercising of some degree of force; it may be very slight. Thus, the gentle flowing of illuminating gas into the room whereby the insured is suffocated is considered violent, and the resulting death is death through violent means within the meaning of the policy. Death resulting from taking poison is death through violence. The degree of force expended in the act of taking the poison is sufficient to satisfy the meaning of the word violent." Where a man descended a well to fix something that had gone wrong, and was shortly afterwards found dead at the bottom, having suffocated from gas, the presence of which in the well was not suspected, his death was held to be accidental, because entirely unexpected; it was external, because the cause was from the outside of his body, the gas; and it was violent, because forceful enough to kill and, therefore, sufficient to satisfy the terms of the policy." The policy may provide that in order to recover under it, there must be some external and visible mark of the injury. The reason for the provision is obviously to protect the company from fraudulent claims where there has been no injury. By this phrase is meant, not that the injury must be external and that the policy does not apply where the injury is wholly internal, but that there must be some external and visible signs of the injury. Visible signs within the meaning of the policy are not confined to broken limbs or bruises on the surface of the body. There may be other external indications

2180 Me. 251 (1888).

22 112 N. Y. 472 (1889); 133 Ill. 556 (1890).

23 144 Pa. 79 (1891).

or evidences which are visible signs of internal injuries. Complaint of pain is not a visible sign; complaint of internal soreness is not such a sign. But if the internal injury produce a pale and sickly look in the face, if it cause vomiting, if to the observation of the eye, in the struggle of nature, there are present any signs of injury, these are external and visible signs, provided they be the direct result of the injury." Nor need the signs appear immediately after the injury. Such construction would defeat all claims for internal injuries not apparent to the eye at once. Thus, where the insured suffers a strain as the result of an accident, and no signs of the injury are visible immediately after the accident, but signs of the injury appear soon thereafter as a result of the accident, he can recover on the policy." Nor is it necessary that the signs of the injury be visible to the eye. It is sufficient if the injury can be ascertained by applying the hand to the exterior of the body; as where the injury of the insured consists of a strain of his diaphragm and recti muscles, which can be ascertained by manipulating the muscles and finding them rigid and tense, these are external and visible signs of the injury within the meaning of the policy."

The provision with reference to the external and visible signs of the injury has no application to the case where the insured dies as the result of the accident. In such a case, the company need not seek protection from fraudulent claims; death itself is sufficient visible sign of the result of the accident. It does not require any more than the appearance of the body after death to demonstrate that life has left the body. For instance, where the insured is drowned, and there are no visible signs of violence on his person, the company will be liable on the policy."

24 23 Fed. Rep. 712, 715 (1885).

25 89 Iowa 468, 470 (1892).

26 66 Hun (N. Y.) 600 (1893).

27 47 N. Y. 52 (1871).

NATURE OF THE CONTRACT

6. Accident insurance in one respect is the simplest contract of all kinds of insurance. This is especially so with that particular plan of insurance that is made with the "ordinary despatch of a purchase and sale," as an authority terms it. "A passenger about to take the cars buys his ticket of insurance as he buys his ticket for fare, and oftentimes of the same person. In each case, the ticket is evidence of a contract, completed and binding on both parties. And, as in other cases, a parol contract to insure or to issue a policy is enforceable, the former at law and the latter in equity, so here a promise to make out a policy or to forward the requisite ticket may be enforced by the appropriate remedy, as where a party on his way to the cars meets the agent of the company, pays for an insurance for one day, and without waiting for his policy or ticket, which the agent promises to send him, proceeds to the cars, and thence on his journey without having received either. The contract is, nevertheless, complete and valid."28

There is, however, that other and more systematic, and now common, kind of contract in accident insurance which contemplates an application and a policy. The application is a statement of facts relating to the applicant, and gives his name, age, residence, occupation, and other warranties regarding his habits and health. Upon signing such application, the applicant becomes entitled to, and usually receives, a policy issued by the insurance company and signed by one or more of its principal officers. Usually the application is made part of the policy, and where the latter provides that "in consideration of the warranties in the application, a copy of which is indorsed hereon, and made part hereof, and of dollars" the company

"hereby insures," the application constitutes a part of the contract of insurance. In such case, there can be no recovery if the statements in the application be not true.

28 May Ins. (4th Ed.), Vol. 2, p. 1,264, citing 5 Lans. (N. Y.) 71 (1871).

If the application be not made part of the contract, the truth of the statements made by the insured in applying for the policy must be determined, in case of a suit thereon, by the jury, in which case a recovery will be defeated, if the statements be found both material and untrue."9

are common.

7. Two plans of doing business in accident insurance The one is the system in operation in Europe, in which the organs of the body are appraised at a specified sum, and the company agrees to pay a certain fixed amount for the loss of a hand, the breaking of a leg, the loss of an eye, and like injuries. The other is the plan in vogue in the United States by which the company promises indemnity for injury, or compensation for death by payment of a fixed sum if the insured die in consequence of an accident. Both plans are sometimes combined in the policies issued in the latter country. Some policies cover all classes of accidents, and others are limited to certain specified accidents, such as those happening while traveling by public conveyance.

30

The matter of payment of premiums is governed by the same general rules of law that govern other insurance. Ordinarily, all policies specify the amount of consideration or premium, reciting the length of time the insurance is to endure in consideration of the amount paid, with an agreement express or implied for a renewal of the policy upon the payment of an additional sum yearly, semiannually, quarterly, or by instalments at various times, according to the character of the company and the terms agreed upon. It is usually provided that there shall be no recovery on the policy for injuries received during any insurance period for which the premium has not been paid, or, in other words, that the policy, or any renewal thereof, shall not take effect unless the premium be actually paid previous to any accident under which the claim is made. In a beneficial association, as has been seen, the contract is evidenced by a certificate or policy issued under the seal of the society, taken in

29 Am. & Eng. Encyc. Law (2d Ed.), Vol. 1, p. 286, citing 133 Ind. 376 (1892); 62 N. W. Rep. 1,057 (1895); 67 Fed. Rep. 460 (1895).

30 Nib. Ben. Soc. and Acc. Ins., Sec. 363.

connection with the by-laws of the order, and its charter or articles of association. A beneficial fund is created for the payment of sick or death benefits, which fund is derived from the contributions of the members made in pursuance of assessments levied at more or less regular intervals, as set out in the constitution and by-laws of the society. Fixed dues intended for the support of the society and, also, in some instances, to swell the beneficial fund, are required to be paid by the members according to rules prescribed." Much of the accident-insurance business of the United States is carried on by mutual-benefit societies organized on plans similar to those of beneficial associations.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONTRACT

32

8. Want of Due Diligence. - While the general rule of law is that when a man is injured through his own want of care he cannot recover, yet, when he insures himself against death or injury resulting from accidents, the mere fact that he himself, in part or wholly, contributed to his injuries by not exercising sufficient care, will not prevent him from recovering under the policy. One of the dangers against which the insured desires to protect himself is this very carelessness on his part; nor is there anything in the law which prevents a man from protecting himself against injury to himself caused by his own want of care. Insurers sometimes make provisions absolving themselves from liability where injury occurs through the carelessness of the insured, and prescribe that the insured must exercise due diligence for his personal safety, and that the company is not liable for injuries resulting where the insured voluntarily exposes himself to unnecessary danger, or for accidents which arise from exposure by the insured to obvious risks. In case there is a doubt as to the proper construction of these provisions, as well as any other provisions in the policy, the doubt will be resolved strictly against the company and liberally in favor of the insured. This is the

31 See The Law of Beneficial Associations.

32 32 Md. 310 (1809).