Insurance Company of North America, a Pennsylvania Corporation v. Nina Howard

In 1972, Mr. and Mrs. Howard, residents of Oregon, purchased a home owner’s policy from Insurance Company of North America, a Pennsylvania corporation. Thereafter, the policy was renewed from time to time, the last policy being issued on or about May 20, 1978. In March of 1978, Mr. Howard died. In September of 1978, Mrs. Howard started spending a substantial portion of her time in another residence in Oregon and moved portions of her furniture to that other residence. On January 28, 1979, she leased the insured home for a one-year period, commencing February 1, 1979, subject to termination by either party upon 30 days’ notice. She left some highly treasured furniture in the home, and testified at her deposition that she rented it because she had intended to visit Florida and did not want the house to be vacant for any length of time. She also testified that she did not want to give up her home and had not made any final decision whether to do so.

Two weeks after Mrs. Howard rented her home, it burned down. Mrs. Howard filed a timely proof of loss statement for $26,-565.00, although her home was worth more than that, because the basic policy coverage was limited to $25,000.00. Her…