RAFAEL ENRIQUEZ vs. SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA G.R. No.

FACTS:
On September 24, 1917, Joaquin Herrer made application to the Sun Life Assurance Company of
Canada through its office in Manila for a life annuity. Two days later he paid the sum of P6,000 to the
manager of the company's Manila office and was given a provisional receipt.

The application was forwarded to the head office of the company at Montreal, Canada and on
November 26, 1917 a notice of acceptance was sent by cable to Manila. (There is no evidence
however, whether on the same day the cable was received notice was sent by the Manila office of
Herrer that the application had been accepted)

On December 4, 1917, the policy was issued. On December 18, 1917, Herrer communicated his desire
to withdraw his application through his lawyer.

The local office replied to Mr. Torres, stating that the policy had been issued, and called attention to
the notification of November 26, 1917. The reply was received by Herrer's council a day after the latter
died.

Plaintiff ad administrator of the estate of the late Joaquin Ma. Herrer to recover from the defendant life
insurance company the sum of pesos 6,000 paid by the deceased for a life annuity. The trial court
gave judgment for the defendant.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the insurance contract between Sun Life and Herrer has been perfected

RULING:

No, the contract for a life annuity in the case at bar was not perfected because it has not been proved
satisfactorily that the acceptance of the application ever came to the knowledge of the applicant.

An acceptance of an offer of insurance not actually or constructively communicated to the proposer

does not make a contract. Only the mailing of acceptance, it has been said, completes the contract of
insurance, as the locus poenitentiae is ended when the acceptance has passed beyond the control of
the party.

An acceptance made by letter shall not bind the person making the offer except from the time it came
to his knowledge (Civil Code Art. 1262). When a letter or other mail matter is addressed and mailed
with postage prepaid there is a rebuttable presumption of fact that it was received by the addressee
as soon as it could have been transmitted to him in the ordinary course of the mails. But if any one of
these elemental facts fails to appear, it is fatal to the presumption. A letter will not be presumed to
have been received by the addressee unless it is shown that it was deposited in the post-office,
properly addressed and stamped.