INDUCEMENT TO COMMIT SUICIDE

It is also possible that a person may take a policy of life insurance on his own life with the ulterior
object of enriching his estate by committing suicide soon after taking the policy. Thus, the taking of
a life insurance policy may act as an inducement to commit suicide if the insured could enrich
himself in this way. This has to be guarded against. Insurers, therefore, exclude from the risk, death
by suicide occurring within a specified period usually one year or two from the date of the contract
or insert a clause limiting their liability to a return of the premiums in such event. This idea is that
ant abnormal urge to commit suicide will be carried our or will pass away within that period,
without any undue benefit accusing to the insured or his estate. Suicide committed, whether sane or
insane has no element of abnormality requiring the imposition of any restrictive clause limiting their
liability in the event of death from suicide. According to some other suicide even when a person is
of unsound mind is not a normal risk and hence they exclude payment if death by suicide occurs
that way within a stated period and just to ensure the free negotiability of their policies, protect the
interest of bona fide transferees for valuable consideration while the suicide clause is in operation to
the extent of their interest in the policy.1

DENIAL OF BENEFIT ON THE GROUND THAT DEATH WAS BY SUICIDE - VALIDITY

The insured had died due to asphyxia on account of rope round the neck causing cardiac-respiratory
failure. However, the fact of suicide has not been proved and existence of knot at back was
suggestive of the fact that it could even be a case of murder. In such situation, it was held that denial
of benefit of postal insurance to father of the insured on ground that death was due to suicide is
improper.2

SUICIDE PACT AND FORFEITURE RULE

The Forfeiture rule is a rule of public policy that precludes a person who had unlawfully killed
another from gaining a benefit a benefit in consequence of the killing. The applicability of this rule
to survivors of suicide pacts came for determination in the Court of Appeal. Court held that, in the
case of the survivor of a suicide pact, the public interest would not normally call for forfeiture and

1english suicide act, 1961, which enacts for english and wales that, ‘rule of law whereby it is a crime for a person to
commit suicide is hereby abrograted’
2 Faquir Singh v. Union of India, AIR 2002 J&K 62
the Court would order that there should be full relief against the effect of the forfeiture rule against
such survivor.3

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INTERNET (probable introduction)

Life insurance policy is a contract between the policy holder (assured) and the insurer (insurance
company), where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the
death of the insured person. In return, the policyholder agrees to pay a stipulated amount (at regular
intervals or in lump sums). The expression, “insurance policy”, has not been statutory defined in
India and it carries the meaning and definition evolved through practice of insurance business and
common law cases. In a nutshell, life policies are legal contracts and the terms of the contract
describe the limitations of the insured events. Specific exclusions are often written into the contract
to limit the liability of the insurer. Common examples are claims relating to suicide, fraud, war, riot
and civil commotion. Suicide means a willful and intentional act on the part of the self-destroyer. It
includes every act of self destruction.4
Some insured life insurance policy-holders, if they feel that their family will be better off with the
insurance benefit, may be tempted to see suicide as a gainful option. In india, most companies have
a suicide clause of one year. However, the one year time period in some countries has been found
insufficient and has been extended to two years. In past few years has gathered concern in Japan as
there has been rise in suicide where the person who committed suicide was insure for significantly
high sums, the insurance company started to increase their exclusion clause to a three year period.5

INSURABLE INTEREST
The main motives for effecting life assurance is either making provision for self in old age or for
family in the event of death or children’s education and ‘start in life.’ It means the insured is
interested in continued life for him or his family members. He is also placed that he is going to
suffer a pecuniary loss in the event of the death. Thus, the interest, the insured possesses in the life

3 Dunbar [Administrator of Dunbar (decd)] v. Plant, [1997] 4 A11 ER 290 : (1997) 3 WLR 1261
4Vivek Dubey, ‘Suicide Clause in Life Policies in India: How far legally valid?’ <http://www.erevija.org/pdf/articles/
eng/Vivek%20engl%203-2014.pdf> accessed 14 March 2019
5Dr. Kaninika Mishra, ‘Life Insurance Underwriting : A Practical Insight’ 2009 page 72 Deep & Deep Publications Pvt.
Ltd.
of any person (life is a subject matter of insurance here) or in his own life is called insurable
interest. Insurable Interest is presumed at the time of filling the application of the insurance.
Earlier, in India, in case of Northern India Assurance Co. Ltd vs. Kanhiya Lal, AIR [1938]
Insurance policies usually contain a clause that no payment will be made in case of suicide by an
insured. This is because in India, suicide itself is not a crime but an attempt to suicide is. Therefore,
unless there is a specific clause to that effect in the policy.6
Historically, suicide was known by the Latin expression felo de se or felonia de se. The Athenians
would “punish” the self-murderer by cutting off his hand or, more properly stated, off the corpse of
the self-murderer. The prevailing view at the time was aptly summarized by Plato (427–347 BC),
who wrote: “Man is a prisoner who has no right to open the door of his prison and runaway. A man
should wait and not take his own life until God summons him.” This attitude continued for
centuries.

6Insurance Law and Practice By C.L. Tyagi & Madhu Tyagi, Madhu Tyagi, Atlantuc Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd,
2007, page 22