INSURANCE - DISABILITY BENEFITS - INSURED'S DUTY TO REMOVE DISABILITY

Plaintiff insured had suffered from diabetes since 1932. Defendant insurance company paid disability benefits till 1937 and thereafter refused to make further payments on the ground that plaintiff had refused to avail himself of the insulin and dietary treatment advised by his physician. Such treatment is neither dangerous, painful, nor detrimental to the patient. From an order sustaining plaintiff's demurrer to defendant's answer, defendant appealed.

Held, plaintiff's demurrer sustained. The policies as written define the rights and duties of the contracting parties and should be construed as written. The court will not read into policies by operation of law a condition precedent to liability when the insurer who drafted the contract did not expressly incorporate such a provision. The doctrine of "avoidable consequences" does not apply in disability cases.

Miller v. Mutual Life Ins. Co. of N. Y., 206 Minn. 221, 289 N. W. 399 (1939).