Barbara R. Peel, Cross v. American Fidelity Assurance Company, a Foreign Corporation, and Does I Through X, Inclusive, Cross

Mrs. Barbara Peel, then a Mississippi school teacher, obtained a disability insurance policy from American Fidelity Assurance Company in 1971. Under its terms, disability due to illness yielded two years in benefits while disability arising from an accident led to lifetime benefits.

In 1973, American Fidelity and the Mississippi Education Association (MEA) changed the terms of the group policy under which Mrs. Peel obtained her insurance. These changes, effective September 1,1973, were approved by Mississippi’s commissioner of insurance. The only change relevant to this case was one in…