Insurance litigation requires a lot of briefing so we keep a stash of helpful citations that are often used in our court filings. An example is the rules that courts must follow when interpreting insurance policies. These rules of construction can be quite helpful in the right case. Below are several that insurance practitioners should not forget:
- Insurance contracts, being subject to the same rules of construction as contracts generally, should be interpreted and enforced as written. Absent fraud or mistake, the terms of a contract should be given their plain and ordinary meaning, for the primary rule of contract interpretation is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the parties. U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Tennessee Farmers Mut. Ins. Co., 27277 S.W.3d 381, 387Tenn. 2009).
- The parties’ respective rights and obligations are governed by their contract of insurance whose terms are embodied in the policy. As with any other contract, our responsibility is to give effect to the expressed intention of the parties, by construing the policy fairly and reasonably, and by giving the policy’s language its common and ordinary meaning. We are not at liberty to rewrite an insurance policy simply because we do not favor its terms or because its provisions produce harsh results. In the absence of fraud, overreaching, or unconscionability, the courts must give effect to an insurance policy if its language is clear and its intent certain. Angus v. Western Heritage Ins. Co., 448 S.W.3d 728, 731(Tenn.Ct.App. 2000).
- Exclusionary clauses are to be strictly construed against the insurer when drafted by the insurer. Palmer v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 614 S.W.2d 788, 789 (Tenn. 1981).
- The language of the policy must be taken and understood in its plain, ordinary and popular sense. Where language is susceptible to...
