INSURANCE - FAILURE TO ACT PROMPTLY ON APPLICATION - TORT LIABILITY OF INSURER

Although mere delay in passing upon an application for insurance cannot, as a rule, be construed as an acceptance of the offer for a contract of insurance, in recent years some courts have held insurance companies liable in tort where there has been delay in acting upon the policy and the loss sought to be insured against has occurred in the meantime. Plaintiff, to sustain a cause of action in tort, must prove negligence on the part of the insurer, or its agents, and that the policy would have been issued to the applicant but for the negligence. The suit must have been brought by the applicant, or in the case of life insurance by the, personal representative of the deceased applicant, and not by the beneficiary under the anticipated policy