In Brief
The husband of the respondent purchased a life insurance policy that lapsed when he failed to pay the due premium in October 2011. Three days after meeting with a fatal accident in March 2012, he deposited the overdue premium to revive the policy. The insurer paid the death benefit but refused the additional accident benefit. The respondent claimed the accident benefit but without disclosing the accident when reviving the policy. The Supreme Court held that accident benefits can only be claimed if the accident occurs after the policy is in force. Since the policy had lapsed at the time of the accident and was revived only after the accident occurred, without disclosure to the insurer, the claim for accident benefit was rightly rejected as it violated the requirement of good faith in insurance contracts.
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