Kinzer v. National Mutual Insurance Ass'n

Citations

• 88 Kan. 93
• 127 P. 762
• 1912 Kan. LEXIS 21

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Insurance—Partial Destruction of Property—Distribution of Loss. A fire insurance policy for $1000 covered property described as a frame building- and an undivided half interest in a brick wall. In an action upon the policy the court found that the frame building was wholly destroyed by fire without injury to the brick wall, and that the value of the brick wall was $250. Held, there being no separate valuation of the properties or distribution of the amount of insurance, the insurer is liable for actual loss of the property destroyed.to the extent of $1000, and the court rightly refused to deduct from the amount of recovery the value .of the brick wall.</p> <p>2. Terms “Wholly Destroyed” and “Total Loss” Construed. Property is to be regarded as having been “wholly destroyed” or a “total loss” within the meaning of an insurance contract, no matter how great a portion thereof may remain unconsumed, if it is so injured that it must be torn down or that what remains can not be utilized in reconstructing the building without incurring a greater expense than if it were not so utilized. (Insurance Co. v. Heckman, 64 Kan. 388, 395, 67 Pac. 879.)</p>