The Spider Woman sets it up so all her victims are bit by the poisonous spider - and are in such agony they commit suicide. All her victims have insurance policies made out to her or people who work for her. But even back in the 40's, if you comitted suicide, any insurance policies were null and void. So how is she making any money on her victim's deaths? All she had claim to was their insurance policy...
shareI have no idea myself. But are you sure there's not a difference in insurance policies between England and wherever you may live?
shareI believe it is fairly universal that if you take out an insurance policy on yourself, and then kill yourself so your family can collect, and the insurance company can prove it, that the insured won't get a dime.
It's been a mystery plot for years, all over the world... Saw an Ellery Queen once where a dying man killed himself to make sure his cheating wife wouldn't get a dime of insurance... and his wife and her lover tried to manipulate the scene to make it LOOK like a murder...
I also googled the question -- pretty much a given that if you have a life insurance policy on yourself, and you commit suicide, that the insurance is null and void, so I don't see HOW the Spider Woman was making a profit at all!
In many policies, they won't pay if the suicide occurs within a limited period of time after the policy is written. A typical "suicide clause" requires the passage of at least two years. But if the policy has been in force long enough, then it will pay out on a suicide.
The logic behind the waiting period is that a depressed person may take out the insurance policy in preparation for the suicide. But if the waiting period is long enough, then either the urge to commit suicide may pass or, if it doesn't, the policy won't pay off unless enough time has passed for the "passion of the moment" to have died down.
It is better to be kind than to be clever or good looking. -- Derek