Insurance policies are meticulously crafted documents outlining the rights, duties, and obligations of both policyholders and insurers. Despite this, the scope of coverage and the interpretation of a policy’s terms and conditions often become subjects of disagreement between insurers and policyholders. Despite their unique characteristics, insurance policies are fundamentally contractual agreements subject to the customary rules of contract interpretation.

This article briefly explores an essential principle of insurance policy interpretation — policy interpretation must be grounded in the actual language of the policy, regardless of the headings and labels created by policy drafters and the generally accepted meanings of those labels. This concept was extensively explored in Stryker v. Steadfast Ins. Co., [No. C089374, 2022].

Read the article here.