The Standard Fire Policy still exists in a number of states. Some states also have standard policy forms although not the Standard 165 Line Fire Policy. The Property Casualty Insurance Association of America made the following chart several years ago for use when considering the impact of the Terrorism Insurance and its related federal legislation on standard policies mandated by various states:
Merlin Law Group attorney Ed Eshoo is a true coverage expert when it comes to the standard 165-line insurance policy. He has written numerous blogs and articles on the impact standard fire polices can have on coverage. In Standard Fire Insurance Policies Still Provide Basic Protections—A Major Victory for Policyholders and Merlin Law Group, Eshoo noted:
Surprisingly, many public adjusters and policyholder lawyers are not aware of the Standard Fire Policy. But, for myself and others here at Merlin Law Group, it is the starting point in analyzing coverage for a fire loss. The Standard Fire Policy potentially affords policyholders more coverage than they may otherwise have, given the limited number of provisions which condition, suspend, limit, restrict, or exclude fire coverage.
For everybody involved in the property insurance coverage and claim business, one of the first questions to ask is what statutes, regulations, and then standard policies apply. This is a state-by-state analysis and one that is very important to fully understand policyholder rights and benefits following a loss.
Thought For The Day
In the old days, you would have one lawyer to handle everything: speeding tickets, buying a house, contracts, litigation, real estate, copyrights, leasing, entertainment, intellectual property, forensic accounting, criminal offenses… the list goes on. Now, you have to have a separate lawyer for each one of those categories!
—James Belushi
