Insurance Coverage Q&A: Matching and pair & set clause

A fire occurred in a home located in Aurora, Ohio. As a result, 60% of the windows and sliding doors were destroyed by the fire. The insurance company has agreed to replace the fire-damaged units but hasn’t committed on the undamaged units. This structure was custom-built by the insureds in 1984 and all of the windows and doors were manufactured by ” Windsor,” which is still in business and has given an estimate to replace the windows and doors that were damaged with an exact new model of like, kind and quality.

However, the new units now come with a clad finish at the bottom and will not match the undamaged units either on an inside look or outside look. Can the “pair and set clause” be invoked here? Is there another avenue for “matching” windows and doors with the exact model, kind and quality because 40% of the undamaged units will not match. The undamaged units may be cleanable but are smoke damaged and will need to be refinished. 

— Ohio Subscriber

Matching is one of those topics that the industry routinely struggles with. FC&S has long maintained that if the insured has a replacement cost policy the insured should be restored to pre-loss condition. Therefore, if they had matching windows before the loss, they should have matching windows after the repair is completed. Courts have fallen on both sides of the issue and a number of states, including Ohio, have statutes regarding how matching should be handled. Ohio’s statute reads:

“When an interior or exterior loss requires the replacement of an item and the replaced item does not match the quality, color or size of the item suffering the loss, the insurer shall replace as much of the item as to result in a reasonably comparable appearance. This provision applies to fire and extended coverage policies. Citations: Ohio Admin. Code 3901-1-54.”

FC&S’ chart on matching statutes can be found here.

The pair and set clause is a different matter. The pair and set clause is outside of the settlement provisions for Coverages A and B; if the language applied to A and B, the policy would be worded differently. Pairs and sets are set out differently and apply to items that truly are a pair or set — wall sconces, for example, or a pair of earrings.

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