Gillis v. Benefit Trust Life Ins. Co.

The plaintiff, William C. Gillis, appeals from a summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Benefit Trust Life Insurance Company.

On March 16, 1987, Gillis and his wife, Nellie Gillis, applied for health insurance with the defendant. As part of the application process, Gillis requested the "Check-o-matic" payment plan. The Check-o-matic plan allowed Benefit Trust to withdraw preauthorized checks from Gillis's checking account to cover the insurance premiums on the policy for him and his wife.1 The monthly premium for the policy was $239.85.

On July 31, 1988, Mrs. Gillis died. Before her death,…