Helen’s home was burglarized in 1975. A number of items were stolen but the heirloom painting appraised at $25,000 was especially important. North Assurance paid the entire claim for $32,500 and received a full release. Everyone was satisfied.

An art dealer found the painting in 2007 and turned it over to the police. Helen had since died and North Assurance had become OneBeacon Insurance Company. Even more important was the fact that the painting was now appraised at $400,000! Helen’s estate was willing to return the $25,000 in exchange for the painting. OneBeacon resisted because of the previous full release.

The court ruled that OneBeacon did not have the right to receive such a windfall. It required that it return the $400,000 painting to the family in exchange for the $25,000.

Click here for more details.

Every policy has a condition that explains the actions to take if a lost item is recovered or if a negligent party is obligated to pay money towards a loss. The goal of the recovery clause is to put both the named insured and the carrier back to their condition before the loss occurred. Neither party is entitled to gain from the recovery.

This is condition O. Recovered Property in HO 00 03–ISO Homeowners 3.

Click here to view an analysis of all of the Section I conditions in the HO 00 03–ISO Homeowners Policy.

Paintings and other fine arts should be covered under an inland marine personal lines floater because of the flexibility it offers in valuing property. The more valuable or unusual the fine art, the more important it is to have a fine arts floater. The first step in the process involves an appraisal, the results of which could really surprise the owner.

Click here for an explanation of personal lines fine arts insurance.

Do you know if your customer has a fine arts exposure? Are you sure?

Click here for a letter you might want to send to your personal lines customers now (as well as just before each renewal) as a way to uncover changes in your customer’s household before a loss occurs.

Emarketing is written for your customers. If you subscribe to Producer Online, you have permission to use these articles in your newsletters and on your website. There are currently 240 articles. These are updated regularly and new ones added. Here are some recently added or updated articles:

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