Policy Provisions, Exclusions, Conditions, and Endorsements
The skeleton: DICE
Every policy has Declarations (who, what, how much, when), an Insuring agreement (the promise), Conditions (duties), and Exclusions, plus definitions that control interpretation.
Conditions you must recognize
Duties after loss (notice, proof of loss, cooperation, protect property), other insurance (pro rata, excess, or primary), subrogation, salvage, abandonment (never allowed without insurer consent), appraisal (a valuation dispute - not arbitration and not a coverage dispute), suit against the insurer (time limit), cancellation and nonrenewal notice, premium audit, and the mortgage/loss payable clause.
Clauses that modify the contract
Liberalization (automatic adoption of broader later forms), pair and set, waiver and estoppel, assignment (requires insurer consent), no benefit to bailee, control of property, and severability of interests. Endorsements amend the base form; order of precedence normally runs manuscript endorsement, then printed endorsement, then policy form - the most specific and most recent controls.
Traps
- Appraisal decides the amount of loss, never whether coverage exists.
- Subrogation cannot leave the insured worse off; insureds generally must be made whole first.
- Late notice may not defeat coverage absent prejudice, but do not assume it.
- A named insured's material misrepresentation can void the policy; an innocent coinsured may or may not be protected.
- Vacancy and unoccupancy are different, and both can suspend coverage.
Rule of thumb: when an endorsement and a policy form conflict, the endorsement controls - and always read an exclusion's exception before choosing an answer.