Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Understanding the Distinct Purpose and Meaning of First-Party Insurance

By Kenneth W. Erickson and John C. Demers

Like all contracts, insurance agreements are drafted and entered into in order to carry forward the intentions of the parties. Because parties negotiate first-party property insurance to protect interests that differ fundamentally from those covered by third-party liability insurance, third-party precedent is of limited ' if any ' relevance and utility in interpreting first-party insurance agreements.

Courts broadly recognize the distinct purpose and meaning of first-party insurance. See, e.g., Great Northern Ins. Co. v. Mount Vernon Fire Ins. Co., 708 N.E.2d 167, 170-71 (N.Y. 1999) (“[W]holly different interests are protected by first-party coverage and third-party coverage.”); Garvey v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 770 P.2d 704 (Cal. 1989). At its core, first-party insurance protects insureds against physical loss or damage from external perils ' eg, fire, flood, windstorm, intentional acts ' to their own property. Many commercial first-party contracts also indemnify a business for the loss of profits directly resulting from this insured physical loss or damage. The coverage afforded by this and any similar endorsement or extension is based on the same fundamental first-party principles as underlie the core physical loss insurance. In each case, the first-party insured bears the impact and receives any indemnity that is due.

Read These Next
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs Image

A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.

Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.

Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits Image

In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.