Monday, June 25, 2007

Burns v. California Fair Plan (Cal. Ct. App. - June 25, 2007)

When your house burns down, you can't recover twice the value of the house. Even if you have insurance policies from two different insurers. Even if it's not you that's trying to recover twice, but rather (1) someone with a life estate -- the buyer of Insurance #1, and (2) someone holding the remainder interest -- the buyer of Insurance #2. And even if, as here, your name is (Ann) Burns.

The insurers only have to pay a collective total of the value of the destroyed property; in paticular, their pro rata share. Sorry that you each had to have your own insurance in order to protect yourself. You collectively only get the value of the destroyed property.

Sorry.