PERSONAL LINES PROVISIONS · 6 MIN READ

Duties After Loss and the Claims Process

After a property loss, the insured owes the insurer a checklist of contractual duties: prompt notice of loss, protecting the property from further damage (mitigation), preparing an inventory, exhibiting the damaged property, producing records, submitting a signed sworn proof of loss, and — on demand — submitting to an examination under oath (EUO). The EUO is an investigative tool, not litigation discovery: the insured must testify while not in the presence of any other insured, a rule designed to prevent co-insureds from coordinating their stories. Courts treat the EUO as a condition precedent — refusal does not void the policy from inception, but it suspends the insurer's duty to pay and bars the insured from suing until the examination is performed. Once a valid proof of loss is in hand and agreement is reached, the loss-settlement clock runs — payment is typically due within 30 days after agreement or award. When the parties agree there is coverage but disagree on the dollar amount, the Appraisal condition supplies a quasi-arbitration: either party may demand appraisal in writing, each selects a competent appraiser, the appraisers choose an umpire, and a decision by any two of the three binds the parties as to the amount of loss. Appraisal is limited strictly to amount disputes — coverage questions, exclusions, and condition compliance belong to the courts. If the insured must sue, the Suit Against Us condition imposes two independent requirements: full compliance with all policy conditions, and filing within the contractual limitation period — typically one to two years running from the date of loss, not the date of denial, though some states extend or toll it. Two salvage-adjacent conditions finish the picture. Abandonment is rejected: the insured cannot dump damaged property on the insurer and demand a total loss. The Recovered Property condition gives the insured a one-way option when paid-for stolen property later turns up: keep the claim payment and let the insurer take the property, or take the property back and return the payment (adjusted for the recovery). The insurer can never force the property back on the insured. On total-loss settlements the insurer generally takes title to salvage — and while a pre-loss waiver of policy conditions is often unenforceable, a knowing post-loss waiver of accrued rights, such as a signed release of salvage proceeds after payment, is generally enforceable.