Lunt v. Grand Lodge Ancient Order United Workmen of Iowa

The certificate sued on contains the following proviso:

“I agree that my disappearance or long continued absence, unheard of from my family or place of residence, shall not be regarded as evidence of my death, or of any right to recover under my certificate, until after the expiration of my expectancy of life, according to the mortality tables of the National Fraternal Congress.”

The foregoing provision was supported by an existing bylaw to the same effect. The fighting question in this case is whether the foregoing provision was valid and binding upon the insured and his beneficiary.

The effect…