No insurer doing business in this State may issue a fire insurance policy for more than the value stated in the policy or the value of the property to be insured. The amount of insurance must be fixed by the insurer and insured at or before the time of issuing the policy. In case of total loss by fire the insured is entitled to recover the full amount of insurance. In case of a partial loss by fire the insured is entitled to recover the actual amount of the loss but in no event more than the amount of the insurance stated in the contract. If two or more policies are written upon the same property, they are considered to be contributive insurance, and, if the aggregate sum of all such insurance exceeds the insurable value of the property, as agreed by the insurer and the insured, each insurer, in the event of a total or partial loss, is liable for its pro rata share of insurance. This section does not apply to insurance on chattels or personal property.
S.C. Code Ann. § 38-75-20
Maximum amounts of fire insurance policies; stated values; contributions by coinsurers
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case National Grange Mut. Ins. Co. v. Firemen's Ins. Co. of Newark, New Jersey (1992)
Most recently applied in Blanding v. Long Beach Mortgage Co. (July 2008)
Former 1976 Code SECTION 38-9-190 [1947 (45) 322; 1948 (45) 1734; 1952 Code SECTION 37-154; 1962 Code SECTION 37-154] recodified as SECTION 38-75-20 by 1987 Act No. 155, SECTION 1.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: South Carolina Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.