Is An Insurance Claim Assignable and Enforceable When the Contract Has Been Completed and Only the Amount Due Is to Be Paid ?

In Ginsburg v. Bull Dog Auto Fire Insurance Ass'n of Chicago, 328 Ill. 571, 160 N.E. 145 (1928), an insurance company issued to the insured an automobile insurance policy that covered a loss by theft of his automobile. Ginsburg, 328 Ill. at 571-72. The insured's automobile was stolen, and thereafter, the insured assigned his claim against the insurance company to a third party. See Ginsburg, 328 Ill. at 572. The insurance company refused to recognize the third party's claim because of the antiassignment provision in the insurance policy. See Ginsburg, 328 Ill. at 572. The supreme court explained that, after the insurance contract had been fully executed and nothing remained to be done except to pay the money, a different rule applies. Ginsburg, 328 Ill. at 573. The court went on to note that the "element of the personal character, credit, and substance of the party with whom the contract is made is no longer material, because the contract had been completed and all that remains to be done is to pay the amount due." Ginsburg, 328 Ill. at 573. Our supreme court stated that the claim then becomes a "chose in action, which is assignable and enforceable." Ginsburg, 328 Ill. at 573.