Terra Extraneus

While the annals of Oklahoma insurance law may not be whipped into a froth, the Supreme Court ruled that “actual cash value” in the insurance code means the same as other insurance code terms such as “fair value” and “actual value.” Tyler v. Shelter Mutual Insurance Company, 2008 OK 9. The opinion was issued in response to a certified question from a federal court. It took ten judges to decide the issue.

In another case, a jury was asked to decide whether an insured of Oklahoma Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company was entitled to indemnity payments for a substandard wood roof. Because both parties admitted the policy was unambiguous, there was no fact question to submit to the jury, so the jury verdict was superfluous as a matter of law. Based on the unambiguous policy, the Court reversed and rendered, finding coverage and ordering a hearing to set damages. The question under the policy was whether the replacement of the hail damaged wood roof shingles with plywood decking and composition shingles would be covered. Farmers attempted to cover only the repair of the composition shingles because the policy limited coverage to materials of like kind and quality, and the wood shingles were not the same as the composition shingles and plywood decking. Gutowski v Oklahoma Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Company, 2008 OK CIV APP 8.