Also known as: sane · insane · sanity · insanity · sanely · insanely · mental capacity · insanity defense · sound mind
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A phrase inserted into life and accident insurance suicide clauses that excludes coverage for death by suicide even when the insured acted under the influence of insanity. The clause applies regardless of whether the insured understood the moral or legal nature of the act.
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Sydney Santos, who suffered from a severe mental deficiency, drove through a red light and struck a pedestrian. The pedestrian sued for negligence. The court held Sydney to the standard of a reasonable person and imposed liability even though her mental condition prevented her from conforming to that standard.
Sasha Stone executed an irrevocable trust transferring her entire investment portfolio to a charity while experiencing acute confusion after surgery. She could not identify her assets or explain how the transfer would affect her future finances. The court invalidated the trust because she lacked the mental capacity required for an irrevocable donative transfer.
Spencer Silver was arrested and given Miranda warnings. He remained silent. At trial the prosecution sought to introduce that silence to rebut his insanity defense. The court excluded the evidence because using post-Miranda silence to counter an insanity claim violates the implicit assurance that silence carries no penalty.
Sarah Sullivan, age 82, executed a will while suffering from advanced dementia that prevented her from understanding the nature and extent of her property. Her children contested the will. The court denied probate because she was not of sound mind at the time of execution.
Scott Summers and Simone Sanders participated in a marriage ceremony immediately after Scott consumed a large quantity of prescription medication that left him disoriented. Scott later sought to annul the marriage. The court granted the annulment because Scott lacked the mental capacity to understand and agree to the marriage at the time of the ceremony.
Sterling Dynamics' employee was charged with assault and intended to raise an insanity defense. Counsel failed to file the required written notice within the pretrial motion deadline. The court barred the defense because the notice requirement was not satisfied and no good cause was shown for the delay.
Yes. The clause excludes coverage for suicide even when the insured was insane at the time, provided the policy language uses the phrase and no contrary statute applies.
Supporting sources
A simple suicide exclusion may permit recovery when the insured lacked capacity to form intent, but the 'sane or insane' language removes that exception and bars recovery regardless of mental state.
Supporting sources