Gaunt v. John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
160 F.2d 599 (1947)
Gaunt completed a life insurance application with John Hancock (defendant), paid his first premium, and was examined and found insurable by the company's own doctor, whose recommendation was forwarded up the chain to the home office; a home office doctor approved him medically the same day he was killed by a gunshot, but the company had not yet given final approval and never did. His mother (plaintiff) sued for the policy proceeds; the trial court found Gaunt intended coverage to start upon completing his medical exam ("Part B") and that the company would have approved him had he lived, but dismissed the suit anyway because formal home-office approval never occurred.
Whether an insurance policy becomes effective once the applicant fulfills his own requirements under the application, even if he dies before the company formally approves the application.