What's Reasonable to Expect?

It is Mr. Jaggers, the lawyer, who tells Pip that he is “a young fellow of great expectations,” in Charles Dickens' novel of the same name. In the course of the novel, Pip learns that great expectations are not always fulfilled. So it is in the law; but what of reasonable expectations? At least in the insurance context, generally, a policyholder's reasonable expectations as to coverage will be fulfilled. A number of jurisdictions have adopted one version or another of the reasonable expectations doctrine, originally proposed by Judge Robert E. Keeton in Insurance Law Rights at Variance with Policy Provisions, 83 Harv. L. Rev. 961 (1970). This doctrine, however, has developed somewhat unevenly in the state courts, with some courts applying the doctrine to ambiguous provisions only and others using the doctrine to avoid enforcing even unambiguous policy language. Insurance companies have been advocating for yet another wrinkle: They argue that the rule should apply solely to unsophisticated parties. But should the application of the reasonable expectations doctrine turn on whether Pip bought an insurance policy when a blacksmith's apprentice or as an ascendant gentleman in London?