WA court ruling says that insurance value of property includes sales tax

Jason Anderson, a Seattle lawyer and longtime author of the Washington State Insurance Law Blog, has put up a post re: a recent Washington State Supreme Court ruling that "actual cash value" of insured property includes sales tax, even if the policyholder hasn't yet purchased replacement property.

The case involves a woman named Laura Holden, who had rental insurance when a fire struck the home she was renting. She had coverage with Farmers, including an extra endorsement for replacement cost coverage. The insurer didn't want to pay sales tax until after Holden had purchased replacement items; she said she couldn't afford to pay first and then wait for reimbursement. Click here for Anderson's blog post summarizing the case and the court's ruling, which reversed a lower court's decision.

While we're at it, we might as well mention that there's at least one other longtime regional insurance law blog, the Northwest Insurance Law Blog, written by lawyers in Seattle and Portland. Both summarize recent rulings in insurance law. (And our usual disclaimer applies: mentioning an entity on this blog ≠ endorsement. But you knew that.)