It is always interesting, Vivi, when a court actually reads the terms and conditions of the policy and applies those terms and conditions to a dispute.

For example, in Everett v. State Farm General Insurance Co, published April 29, 2008, the California Court of Appeal applied the terms of the contract:

"Here, State Farm provided Everett with more than sufficient notice of the changes in her policy. According to the record, State Farm mailed to its insureds, including Everett, a notice informing them of the reduction in coverage. Specifically, the notice informed Everett that the "Guaranteed Replacement Cost Coverage" was being eliminated. Nonetheless, Everett maintains that the notice failed to "clearly explain" that there was a limit on the amount of coverage. We disagree. The notice stated: "Your policy now has a stated limit of liability under Coverage A that reflects the maximum that will be paid in case of loss." If Everett did not understand what was being changed with respect to her coverage, she could have called her agent, or State Farm directly, for clarification. She did not do so. Based on the above, Everett's assertion that she did not get sufficient notification of the changes in her policy fails.
* * *
"The fact that Everett did not understand the 1997 notice informing her that her guaranteed replacement cost coverage was being eliminated is her fault. State Farm did not misrepresent anything regarding Everett's insurance policy. Thus, Everett is unable to show how the defect in her pleadings can be cured by amendment. As such, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's decision to grant State Farm's motion for judgment on the pleadings as to Everett's claim for reformation."

Perhaps more people will read their insurance contracts and stop bringing suits that they believe will succeed because the defendant is an insurance company.

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