Rosenberg-Wohl

Opinion of the Court by Guerrero, C. J.

Section 2071 of the Insurance Code prescribes a standard form fire insurance policy, the provisions of which provide a baseline for fire insurance coverage in this state.1 Language within the standard policy provides, “No suit or action on this policy for the recovery of any claim shall be sustainable in any court of law or equity unless all the requirements of this policy shall have been complied with, and unless commenced within 12 months next after inception of the loss.” (§ 2071.) The issue before us is whether this one-year deadline for filing suit, as found within an insurance policy that is subject to section 2071, determines the timeliness of an insured’s cause of action under the unfair competition law (UCL; Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) that challenges the insurer’s general practices in handling claims and through which the insured seeks only declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of all policyholders, or whether the UCL’s four-year statute of limitations (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17208) governs instead. In this case, a divided Court of Appeal affirmed the superior court’s entry of judgment in favor of defendant State Farm…