The court found that Homesite breached the express terms of its homeowner’s policy by not paying the full cost of an appraisal award to Robert and Meg Bennett within 30 of the date that the appraisal was submitted to the insurer.
According to the record, the appraisal was issued in May, but Homesite did not send the Bennetts’ a check until July 7th. In its order, the court pointed to the fact that the policy stated that the Bennetts’ loss “will be payable” within 30 days of appraisal being issued.
The court rejected Homesite’s defense that “payable” referred to when it could start making a payment, and not when the payment was actually due. Although the court found that Homesite breached its contractual obligations under the policy, it still wanted a jury to decide on the husband and wife’s remaining claims against its insurer regarding payments that were made to the couple for the fire damage to their home.
In a sharp response, the district court judge said of Homesite’s argument “This makes little sense in the context of the policy, where the loss is due to make the insured whole and where time is of the essence.”
