1. Was Sagarnara an intended third party beneficiary under Dr. Garcia’s life insurance policy giving her standing to sue the insurer?

2. Did Prudential Insurance Co. violate Dr. Garcia’s life insurance policy?

3. Did Sagarnaga receive additional compensation in this case beyond the death benefit of the policy?

Dr. Garcia purchased a Prudential (Pruco) life insurance policy for a death benefit of $750,000, with his wife Margarita as the primary beneficiary and his three children as contingent beneficiaries. After Margarita’s death in 2005, Dr. Garcia married Sagarnaga in 2007. In 2008 Dr. Garcia contacted Pruco and in a recorded conversation advised Pruco that he wanted to designate his wife Sagarnaga as a 50 percent beneficiary. Pruco sent him a partially completed change of beneficiary [COB] form. Dr. Garcia completed the remaining information and returned the COB request to Pruco. Thereafter the signed COB form dated April 3, 2008, and received by Pruco on April 10, 2008, listed the beneficiaries as follows: the primary beneficiary designation stated Sagarnaga was to receive 50 percent of the Policy proceeds, 12 percent to Arturo Garcia, Jr., 13 percent to Eloisa, and 25 percent to Cecilia. Contingent beneficiaries were also listed. According to the terms of the Policy, if Pruco received a COB request, Pruco would record the change and file it. The change of beneficiary would be effective as of the date the request was signed. Dr. Garcia died in Brazil on September 22, 2009. It was discovered that Dr. Garcia’s COB form received on April 10, 2008, had not been accepted or recorded because a Pruco employee saw an ambiguity regarding the contingent beneficiaries section which had not been resolved prior to Dr. Garcia’s death. Pruco stated that Sagarnaga was thus not a beneficiary under the policy. The children filed a lawsuit against Pruco seeking the entire death benefit. Pruco contended that Sagarnaga had no standing to sue and asserted that it had not breached the insurance contract. From a judgment for Sagarnaga, Prudential appealed.

JUDICIAL OPINION

RODRIGUEZ, J.… Pruco contends the trial court erroneously found Sagarnaga had standing. An insurance policy is a contract between the insurer and the insured/owner of the policy. Hernandez v. Gulf Group Lloyds, 875 S.W.2d 691, 692 (Tex.1994). A beneficiary named under a life-insurance policy has no standing to recover under the policy unless his ……………………