The judge of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court holding that an insurer did not breach a policy where the insured could not show that its property damages exceeded the policy deductible. The case is Frontline Fellowship Inc. v. Brotherhood Mut. Ins. Co., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 24239 (10th Cir. 2023). Please note that this opinion is unpublished and has limited precedential value.

What Happened 

Frontline Fellowship purchased a commercial property policy from Brotherhood Mutual for coverage of a property in central Oklahoma. The policy permitted cash recovery via replacement cost value (RCV) or actual cash value (ACV). The RCV provision stated Brotherhood would not pay until repair and replacement of damaged property had been completed. The ACV clause stated that, in the absence of repair and replacement, Brotherhood would pay for the actual cash value of the damaged property at the time of loss. No matter which valuation method was used, the policy stated Brotherhood's obligation to pay damages would only be triggered if the amount of damages exceeded the policy deductible.