The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. vs. Khu

2/4/2019 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 789

G.R. No. 195176. April 18, 2016.*

THE INSULAR LIFE ASSURANCE
COMPANY, LTD., petitioner, vs. PAZ Y. KHU,
FELIPE Y. KHU, JR., and FREDERICK Y.
KHU, respondents.
Insurance Law; Insurance Policy; It is settled

that the reinstatement of an insurance policy should
be reckoned from the date when the same was
approved by the insurer.—In Lalican v. The Insular
Life Assurance Company, Limited, 597 SCRA 159
(2009), which coincidentally also involves the herein
petitioner, it was there held that the reinstatement
of the insured’s policy is to be reckoned from the date
when the application was processed and approved by
the insurer. There, we stressed that: To reinstate a
policy means to restore the same to premiumpaying
status after it has been permitted to lapse.
x x x x x x x In the instant case, Eulogio’s death
rendered impossible full compliance with the
conditions for reinstatement of Policy No. 9011992.
True, Eulogio, before his death, managed to file his
Application for Reinstatement and deposit the
amount for payment of his overdue premiums and
interests thereon with Malaluan; but Policy No.
9011992 could only be considered reinstated after
http://central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/00000168b73a972ee4ba69ef003600fb002c009e/t/?o=False 1/24
the Application for Reinstatement had been

processed and approved by Insular Life during
Eulogio’s lifetime and good health. Thus, it is settled
that the reinstatement of an insurance policy should
be reckoned from the date when the same was
approved by the insurer.
PETITION for review on certiorari of the

decision and resolution of the Court of
Appeals.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the
Court.
Cayetano, Sebastian, Ata, Dado & Cruz for
petitioner.
Buenaventura E. Sagrada for respondents.

545
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 545

The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. vs.
Khu
DEL CASTILLO, J.:

The date of last reinstatement mentioned in
Section 48 of the Insurance Code pertains to
the date that the insurer approved the
application for reinstatement. However, in
light of the ambiguity in the insurance
documents to this case, this Court adopts the
interpretation favorable to the insured in
determining the date when the reinstatement
was approved.
Assailed in this Petition for Review on
Certiorari1 are the June 24, 2010 Decision2 of
the Court of Appeals (CA), which dismissed the
Petition in C.A.G.R. CV No. 81730, and its

December 13, 2010 Resolution3 which denied
the petitioner Insular Life Assurance
Company, Ltd.’s (Insular Life) motion for
partial reconsideration.4

Factual Antecedents

On March 6, 1997, Felipe N. Khu, Sr.
(Felipe) applied for a life insurance policy with
Insular Life under the latter’s Diamond Jubilee
Insurance Plan. Felipe accomplished the
required medical questionnaire wherein he did
not declare any illness or adverse medical
condition. Insular Life thereafter issued him
Policy Number A000015683 with a face value of
P1 million. This took effect on June 22, 1997.5
On June 23, 1999, Felipe’s policy lapsed due
to nonpayment of the premium covering the
period from June 22, 1999 to June 23, 2000.6
_______________
1 Rollo, pp. 2869.

2 Id., at pp. 7082; penned by Associate Justices Romulo
V. Borja and concurred in by Associate Justices Edgardo T.
Lloren and Ramon Paul L. Hernando.
3 Id., at pp. 8384.
4 Id., at pp. 442461.
5 Id., at p. 71.
6 Id.

546
546 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

ANNOTATED

Khu
On September 7, 1999, Felipe applied for the

reinstatement of his policy and paid P25,020.00
as premium. Except for the change in his
occupation of being selfemployed to being the
Municipal Mayor of Binuangan, Misamis
Oriental, all the other information submitted
by Felipe in his application for reinstatement
was virtually identical to those mentioned in
his original policy.7
On October 12, 1999, Insular Life advised
Felipe that his application for reinstatement
may only be considered if he agreed to certain
conditions such as payment of additional
premium and the cancellation of the riders
pertaining to premium waiver and accidental
death benefits. Felipe agreed to these
conditions8 and on December 27, 1999 paid the
agreed additional premium of P3,054.50.9
On January 7, 2000, Insular Life issued
Endorsement No. PNA000015683, which
reads:

This certifies that as agreed by the
Insured, the reinstatement of this policy
has been approved by the Company on the
understanding that the following changes
are made on the policy effective June 22,
1999:
1. The EXTRA PREMIUM is
imposed; and
2. The ACCIDENTAL DEATH
BENEFIT (ADB) and WAIVER OF
PREMIUM DISABILITY (WPD) rider
originally attached to and forming
parts of this policy [are] deleted.
In consequence thereof, the premium

rates on this policy are adjusted to
P28,000.00 annually, P14,843.00 semi
annually and P7,557.00 quarterly,
Philippine currency.10
_______________
7 Id.
8 Id., at unpaginated before p. 72.
9 Id., at p. 72.
10 Records, p. 80.

547
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 547

Khu
On June 23, 2000, Felipe paid the annual

premium in the amount of P28,000.00 covering
the period from June 22, 2000 to June 22, 2001.
And on July 2, 2001, he also paid the same
amount as annual premium covering the period
from June 22, 2001 to June 21, 2002.11
On September 22, 2001, Felipe died. His
Certificate of Death enumerated the following
as causes of death:

Immediate cause: a. End stage renal
failure, Hepatic failure
Antecedent cause: b. Congestive heart
failure, Diffuse myocardial ischemia.
Underlying cause: c. Diabetes Neuropathy,
Alcoholism, and Pneumonia.12
On October 5, 2001, Paz Y. Khu, Felipe Y.

Khu, Jr. and Frederick Y. Khu (collectively,
Felipe’s beneficiaries or respondents) filed with
Insular Life a claim for benefit under the
reinstated policy. This claim was denied.
Instead, Insular Life advised Felipe’s
beneficiaries that it had decided to rescind the
reinstated policy on the grounds of concealment
and misrepresentation by Felipe.
Hence, respondents instituted a complaint
for specific performance with damages.
Respondents prayed that the reinstated life
insurance policy be declared valid, enforceable
and binding on Insular Life; and that the latter
be ordered to pay unto Felipe’s beneficiaries the
proceeds of this policy, among others.13
In its Answer, Insular Life countered that
Felipe did not disclose the ailments (viz., Type
2 Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetes Nephropathy and
Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis with Ascites) that he
already had prior to his application for
reinstatement of
_______________
11 Rollo, p. 72.
12 Id., at pp. 7273.
13 Id., at pp. 70 and 73.

548

ANNOTATED
Khu
his insurance policy; and that it would not

have reinstated the insurance policy had Felipe
disclosed the material information on his
adverse health condition. It contended that
when Felipe died, the policy was still
contestable.14
Ruling of the Regional Trial Court
(RTC)
On December 12, 2003, the RTC, Branch 39
of Cagayan de Oro City found15 for Felipe’s
beneficiaries, thus:
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing,

plaintiffs having substantiated [their]
claim by preponderance of evidence,
judgment is hereby rendered in their favor
and against defendants, ordering the latter
to pay jointly and severally the sum of One
Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00) with legal
rate of interest from the date of demand
until it is fully paid representing the face
value of Plan Diamond Jubilee No. PN
A000015683 issued to insured the late
Felipe N. Khu[,] Sr; the sum of P20,000.00
as moral damages; P30,000.00 as
attorney’s fees; P10,000.00 as litigation
expenses.
SO ORDERED.16
In ordering Insular Life to pay Felipe’s

beneficiaries, the RTC agreed with the latter’s
claim that the insurance policy was reinstated
on June 22, 1999. The RTC cited the ruling in
Malayan Insurance Corporation v. Court of
Appeals17 that any ambiguity in a contract of
insurance should be resolved strictly against
the insurer upon the principle that an
insurance contract is a contract of adhesion.18
The RTC also held that the reinstated
insurance policy had already become

incontestable by the time of Felipe’s death on
September 22,
_______________
14 Id., at unpaginated before p. 74.

15 Id., at pp. 277297; penned by Judge Downey C.
Valdevilla.
16 Id., at pp. 296297.
17 336 Phil. 977; 270 SCRA 242 (1997).
18 Id., at p. 989; p. 254.

549
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 549

Khu
2001 since more than two years had already

lapsed from the date of the policy’s
reinstatement on June 22, 1999. The RTC
noted that since it was Insular Life itself that
supplied all the pertinent forms relative to the
reinstated policy, then it is barred from taking
advantage of any ambiguity/obscurity perceived
therein particularly as regards the date when
the reinstated insurance policy became
effective.
Ruling of the Court of Appeals

On June 24, 2010, the CA issued the
assailed Decision19 which contained the
following decretal portion:

WHEREFORE, the appeal is

DISMISSED. The assailed Judgment of
the lower court is AFFIRMED with the
MODIFICATION that the award of moral
damages, attorney’s fees and litigation
expenses [is] DELETED.
SO ORDERED.20
The CA upheld the RTC’s ruling on the non

contestability of the reinstated insurance policy
on the date the insured died. It declared that
contrary to Insular Life’s contention, there in
fact exists a genuine ambiguity or obscurity in
the language of the two documents prepared by
Insular Life itself, viz., Felipe’s Letter of
Acceptance and Insular Life’s Endorsement;
that given the obscurity/ambiguity in the
language of these two documents, the
construction/interpretation that favors the
insured’s right to recover should be adopted;
and that in keeping with this principle, the
insurance policy in dispute must be deemed
reinstated as of June 22, 1999.21
_______________
19 Rollo, pp. 7082.

20 Id., at pp. 8182.
21 Id., at pp. 8081.

550

ANNOTATED
Khu
Insular Life moved for partial

reconsideration22 but this was denied by the
CA in its Resolution of December 13, 2010.23
Hence, the present Petition.

Issue

The fundamental issue to be resolved in this
case is whether Felipe’s reinstated life
insurance policy is already incontestable at the
time of his death.
Petitioner’s Arguments

In praying for the reversal of the CA
Decision, Insular Life basically argues that
respondents should not be allowed to recover
on the reinstated insurance policy because the
twoyear contestability period had not yet
lapsed inasmuch as the insurance policy was
reinstated only on December 27, 1999, whereas
Felipe died on September 22, 2001;24 that the
CA overlooked the fact that Felipe paid the
additional extra premium only on December 27,
1999, hence, it is only upon this date that the
reinstated policy had become effective; that the
CA erred in declaring that resort to the
principles of statutory construction is still
necessary to resolve that question given that
the Application for Reinstatement, the Letter of
Acceptance and the Endorsement in and by
themselves already embodied unequivocal
provisions stipulating that the twoyear
contestability clause should be reckoned from
the date of approval of the reinstatement;25 and
that Felipe’s misrepresentation and
concealment of material facts in regard to his
health or adverse medical condition gave it
(Insular Life) the right to rescind the contract

of insurance and consequently,
_______________
22 Id., at pp. 442461.

23 Id., at pp. 8384.
24 Id., at p. 583.
25 Id., at pp. 581582.

551
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 551

Khu
the right to deny the claim of Felipe’s

beneficiaries for death benefits under the
disputed policy.26
Respondents’ Arguments

Respondents maintain that the phrase
“effective June 22, 1999” found in both the
Letter of Acceptance and in the Endorsement is
unclear whether it refers to the subject of the
sentence, i.e., the “reinstatement of this policy”
or to the subsequent phrase “changes are made
on the policy”; that granting that there was any
obscurity or ambiguity in the insurance policy,
the same should be laid at the door of Insular
Life as it was this insurance company that
prepared the necessary documents that make
up the same;27 and that given the CA’s finding
which effectively affirmed the RTC’s finding on
this particular issue, it stands to reason that
the insurance policy had indeed become

incontestable upon the date of Felipe’s death.28
Our Ruling

We deny the Petition.
The Insurance Code pertinently provides
that:

Sec. 48. Whenever a right to rescind a
contract of insurance is given to the
insurer by any provision of this chapter,
such right must be exercised previous to
the commencement of an action on the
contract.
After a policy of life insurance made
payable on the death of the insured shall
have been in force during the lifetime of
the insured for a period of two years from
the date of its issue or of its last
reinstatement, the insurer cannot prove
that the policy is void ab initio or is rescin
_______________
26 Id., at p. 592.
27 Id., at p. 611.
28 Id., at p. 607.

552

ANNOTATED
Khu
dible by reason of the fraudulent

concealment or misrepresentation of the
insured or his agent.

The rationale for this provision was
discussed by the Court in Manila Bankers Life
Insurance Corporation v. Aban:29

Section 48 regulates both the actions of
the insurers and prospective takers of life
insurance. It gives insurers enough time to
inquire whether the policy was obtained by
fraud, concealment, or misrepresentation;
on the other hand, it forewarns scheming
individuals that their attempts at
insurance fraud would be timely uncovered
— thus deterring them from venturing into
such nefarious enterprise. At the same
time, legitimate policy holders are
absolutely protected from unwarranted
denial of their claims or delay in the
collection of insurance proceeds occasioned
by allegations of fraud, concealment, or
misrepresentation by insurers, claims
which may no longer be set up after the
twoyear period expires as ordained under
the law.
x x x x
The Court therefore agrees fully
with the appellate court’s
pronouncement that —
x x x x
‘The insurer is deemed to have the
necessary facilities to discover such
fraudulent concealment or
misrepresentation within a period of
two (2) years. It is not fair for the
insurer to collect the premiums as long
as the insured is still alive, only to
raise the issue of fraudulent

concealment or misrepresentation
when the insured dies in order to
defeat the right of the beneficiary to
recover under the policy.
At least two (2) years from the
issuance of the policy or its last
reinstatement, the beneficiary is given
the stability to recover under the
policy when the insured dies. The
provision also makes clear
_______________
29 G.R. No. 175666, July 29, 2013, 702 SCRA 417, 427
429.

553
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 553

Khu
when the twoyear period should

commence in case the policy should lapse
and is reinstated, that is, from the date of
the last reinstatement.’

In Lalican v. The Insular Life Assurance
Company, Limited,30 which coincidentally also
involves the herein petitioner, it was there held
that the reinstatement of the insured’s policy is
to be reckoned from the date when the
application was processed and approved by the
insurer. There, we stressed that:

To reinstate a policy means to restore

the same to premiumpaying status after it
has been permitted to lapse. x x x
x x x x
In the instant case, Eulogio’s death
rendered impossible full compliance with
the conditions for reinstatement of Policy
No. 9011992. True, Eulogio, before his
death, managed to file his Application for
Reinstatement and deposit the amount for
payment of his overdue premiums and
interests thereon with Malaluan; but
Policy No. 9011992 could only be
considered reinstated after the Application
for Reinstatement had been processed and
approved by Insular Life during Eulogio’s
lifetime and good health.31
Thus, it is settled that the reinstatement of

an insurance policy should be reckoned from
the date when the same was approved by the
insurer.
In this case, the parties differ as to when the
reinstatement was actually approved. Insular
Life claims that it approved the reinstatement
only on December 27, 1999. On the other hand,
respondents contend that it was on June 22,
1999 that the reinstatement took effect.
_______________
30 613 Phil. 518; 597 SCRA 159 (2009).

31 Id., at pp. 535537; pp. 176177.

554

ANNOTATED
Khu
The resolution of this issue hinges on the

following documents: 1) Letter of Acceptance;
and 2) the Endorsement.
The Letter of Acceptance32 wherein Felipe
affixed his signature was actually drafted and
prepared by Insular Life. This pro forma
document reads as follows:
LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE
Place: Cag. de [O]ro City

The Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd.
P.O. Box 128, MANILA

Policy No. A000015683

Gentlemen:

Thru your Reinstatement Section, I/WE
learned that this policy may be reinstated
provided I/we agree to the following
condition/s indicated with a check mark:
[xx] Accept the imposition of an
extra/additional extra premium of
[P]5.00 a year per thousand of
insurance; effective June 22, 1999
[ ] Accept the rating on the WPD at
____ at standard rates; the ABD at
____ the standard rates; the SAR at
P____ annually per thousand of
Insurance;
[xx] Accept the cancellation of the
Premium waiver & Accidental death
benefit.
[]
I am/we are agreeable to the above
condition/s. Please proceed with the
reinstatement of the policy.
Very truly yours,
Felipe N. Khu, Sr.
_______________
32 Records, p. 85, dorsal side.

555
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 555

Khu
After Felipe accomplished this form, Insular

Life, through its Regional Administrative
Manager, Jesse James R. Toyhorada, issued an
Endorsement33 dated January 7, 2000. For
emphasis, the Endorsement is again quoted as
follows:
ENDORSEMENT
PNA000015683

This certifies that as agreed to by the
Insured, the reinstatement of this policy
has been approved by the Company on the
understanding that the following changes
are made on the policy effective June 22,
1999:
1. The EXTRA PREMIUM is
imposed; and
2. The ACCIDENTAL DEATH

BENEFIT (ADB) and WAIVER OF
PREMIUM DISABILITY (WPD) rider
originally attached to and forming
parts of this policy is deleted.
In consequence thereof, the PREMIUM
RATES on this policy are adjusted to
[P]28,000.00 annually, [P]14,843.00 semi
annually and [P]7,557.00 quarterly,
Philippine Currency.

Cagayan de Oro City, 07 January 2000.
RCV/
(Signed) Authorized Signature

Based on the foregoing, we find that the CA
did not commit any error in holding that the
subject insurance policy be considered as
reinstated on June 22, 1999. This finding must
be upheld not only because it accords with the
evidence, but also because this is favorable to
the insured who was not responsi
_______________
33 Id., at p. 80.

556

ANNOTATED
Khu
ble for causing the ambiguity or obscurity in

the insurance contract.34
The CA expounded on this point thus —

The Court discerns a genuine ambiguity or
obscurity in the language of the two
documents.
In the Letter of Acceptance, Khu declared
that he was accepting “the imposition of an
extra/additional x x x premium of P5.00 a year
per thousand of insurance; effective June 22,
1999.” It is true that the phrase as used in this
particular paragraph does not refer explicitly to
the effectivity of the reinstatement. But the
Court notes that the reinstatement was
conditioned upon the payment of additional
premium not only prospectively, that is, to
cover the remainder of the annual period of
coverage, but also retroactively, that is for the
period starting June 22, 1999. Hence, by
paying the amount of P3,054.50 on December
27, 1999 in addition to the P25,020.00 he had
earlier paid on September 7, 1999, Khu had
paid for the insurance coverage starting June
22, 1999. At the very least, this circumstance
has engendered a true lacuna.
In the Endorsement, the obscurity is patent.
In the first sentence of the Endorsement, it is
not entirely clear whether the phrase “effective
June 22, 1999” refers to the subject of the
sentence, namely “the reinstatement of this
policy,” or to the subsequent phrase “changes
are made on the policy.”
The court below is correct. Given the
obscurity of the language, the construction
favorable to the insured will be adopted by the
courts.
Accordingly, the subject policy is deemed
reinstated as of June 22, 1999. Thus, the period
of contestability has lapsed.35
_______________
34 Civil Code of the Philippines, Art. 1377. The

interpretation of obscure words or stipulations in a contract
shall not favor the party who caused the obscurity.

557
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 557

Khu
In Eternal Gardens Memorial Park

Corporation v. The Philippine American Life
Insurance Company,36 we ruled in favor of the
insured and in favor of the effectivity of the
insurance contract in the midst of ambiguity in
the insurance contract provisions. We held
that:

It must be remembered that an
insurance contract is a contract of adhesion
which must be construed liberally in favor
of the insured and strictly against the
insurer in order to safeguard the latter’s
interest. Thus, in Malayan Insurance
Corporation v. Court of Appeals, this Court
held that:
Indemnity and liability insurance
policies are construed in accordance
with the general rule of resolving any
ambiguity therein in favor of the
insured, where the contract or policy is
prepared by the insurer. A contract
of insurance, being a contract of

adhesion, par excellence, any
ambiguity therein should be
resolved against the insurer; in
other words, it should be construed
liberally in favor of the insured and
strictly against the insurer.
Limitations of liability should be
regarded with extreme jealousy and
must be construed in such a way as to
preclude the insurer from
noncompliance with its obligations.
x x x x
As a final note, to characterize the
insurer and the insured as contracting
parties on equal footing is inaccurate at
best. Insurance contracts are wholly
prepared by the insurer with vast amounts
of experience in the industry purposefully
used to its advantage. More often than not,
insurance contracts are contracts of
adhesion containing technical terms and
conditions of the industry,
_______________
35 Rollo, pp. 8081.

36 574 Phil. 161; 551 SCRA 1 (2008).

558

ANNOTATED
Khu
confusing if at all understandable to

laypersons, that are imposed on those who
wish to avail of insurance. As such,
insurance contracts are imbued with public
interest that must be considered whenever
the rights and obligations of the insurer
and the insured are to be delineated.
Hence, in order to protect the interest of
insurance applicants, insurance companies
must be obligated to act with haste upon
insurance applications, to either deny or
approve the same, or otherwise be bound to
honor the application as a valid, binding,
and effective insurance contract.37

Indeed, more than two years had lapsed
from the time the subject insurance policy was
reinstated on June 22, 1999 visàvis Felipe’s
death on September 22, 2001. As such, the
subject insurance policy has already become
incontestable at the time of Felipe’s death.
Finally, we agree with the CA that there is
neither basis nor justification for the RTC’s
award of moral damages, attorney’s fees and
litigation expenses; hence this award must be
deleted.
WHEREFORE, the Petition is DENIED.
The assailed June 24, 2010 Decision and
December 13, 2010 Resolution of the Court of
Appeals in C.A.G.R. CV No. 81730 are
AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.
Carpio (Chairperson), Brion, Mendoza and

Leonen, JJ., concur.
Petition denied, judgment and resolution

affirmed.
Notes.—Petitioner’s health care agreement

is primarily a contract of indemnity; A health
care agreement is in the nature of a nonlife
insurance policy. (Philippine Health Care
_______________
37 Id., at pp. 172174; pp. 1314.

559
VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 559

Khu
Providers, Inc. vs. Commissioner of Internal

Revenue, 554 SCRA 411 [2008])
As a general rule, the marine insurance
policy needs to be presented in evidence before
the insurer may recover the insured value of
the lost/damaged cargo in the exercise of its
subrogatory right. (Asian Terminals, Inc. vs.
First LepantoTaisho Insurance Corporation,
726 SCRA 415 [2014])

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2/4/2019 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 789

G.R. No. 195176. April 18, 2016.*

Insurance Law; Insurance Policy; It is settled

the Application for Reinstatement had been

PETITION for review on certiorari of the

VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 545

DEL CASTILLO, J.:

Petition in C.A.­G.R. CV No. 81730, and its

1 Rollo, pp. 28­69.

546 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. vs.

On September 7, 1999, Felipe applied for the

In consequence thereof, the premium

VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 547

On June 23, 2000, Felipe paid the annual

On October 5, 2001, Paz Y. Khu, Felipe Y.

548 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

his insurance policy; and that it would not

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing,

In ordering Insular Life to pay Felipe’s

insurance policy had already become

14 Id., at unpaginated before p. 74.

VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 549

2001 since more than two years had already

Ruling of the Court of Appeals

WHEREFORE, the appeal is

The CA upheld the RTC’s ruling on the non­

19 Rollo, pp. 70­82.

550 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

Insular Life moved for partial

(Insular Life) the right to rescind the contract

22 Id., at pp. 442­461.

VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 551

the right to deny the claim of Felipe’s

the insurance policy had indeed become

552 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

dible by reason of the fraudulent

raise the issue of fraudulent

VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 553

when the two­year period should

To reinstate a policy means to restore

Thus, it is settled that the reinstatement of

30 613 Phil. 518; 597 SCRA 159 (2009).

554 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

The resolution of this issue hinges on the

32 Records, p. 85, dorsal side.

VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 555

After Felipe accomplished this form, Insular

2. The ACCIDENTAL DEATH

556 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

ble for causing the ambiguity or obscurity in

of contestability has lapsed.35

34 Civil Code of the Philippines, Art. 1377. The

VOL. 789, APRIL 18, 2016 557

In Eternal Gardens Memorial Park

of insurance, being a contract of

35 Rollo, pp. 80­81.

558 SUPREME COURT REPORTS

confusing if at all understandable to

Carpio (Chairperson), Brion, Mendoza and

Petition in C.A.G.R. CV No. 81730, and its

1 Rollo, pp. 2869.

The CA upheld the RTC’s ruling on the non

19 Rollo, pp. 7082.

22 Id., at pp. 442461.

when the twoyear period should

35 Rollo, pp. 8081.

37 Id., at pp. 172174; pp. 1314.