And there may be โas many several insurances upon the same property as there are separate interests.โ De Witt v. Agric. Ins. Co., 157 N.Y. 353, 51 N.E. 977, 978 (1898). The inquiry into what interests and whose interests are covered in a particular policy must necessarily be guided in the first instance by the language of the policy.
Loftis, written by Justice Chattin while on the Court of Appeals of Tennessee, thoroughly analyzes both the Tennessee case law and the encyclopedic law, and in the course of the opinion cites with approval Smith v. Northern Insurance Co., 232 App. Div. 354, 250 N.Y.S. 30, as follows: "The real question in the case seems to resolve itself into this: Does the phrase, `the whole insurance covering the property,' relate only to insurance in favor of the same assured, on the same interest? There may be `as many several insurances upon the same property as there are separate interests.' DeWitt v. Agricultural Insurance Company, 157 N.Y. 353, 51 N.E. 977, 978. An insurable interest is vested in the vendor, the vendee, the mortgagor or the mortgagee and others having a separate interest, and each may insure his own distinct insurable interest. The thing insured is not the property described, but the interest or estate of the insured therein.
A mortgagor's policy will hold though a new policy is issued at the request of a mortgagee; a landlord's insurance is unaffected by the fact that other insurance is procured for the protection of the tenant. "Neither the policy of the law nor the contracts of insurance forbid, but on the contrary permit as many several insurances upon the same property as there are separate interests" ( Dewitt v. Agricultural Ins. Co., 157 N.Y. 353, 360; Carpenter v. Prov. Wash. Ins. Co., supra, at p. 503; Mut. Safety Ins. Co. v. Hone, 2 N.Y. 235; 4 Joyce on Ins. ยง 2467). The question is whether this case is within the territory subject to the operation of the rule or within the territory excluded.
In the case of Smith v. Northern Insurance Company, 232 App. Div. 354, 250 N.Y.S. 30, in which a similar provision in an insurance policy was under consideration, it was said: "The real question in the case seems to resolve itself into this: Does the phrase, `the whole insurance covering the property,' relate only to insurance in favor of the same assured, on the same interest? There may be `as many several insurances upon the same property as there are separate interests.' DeWitt v. Agricultural Insurance Company, 157 N.Y. 353, 51 N.E. 977, 978. An insurable interest is vested in the vendor, the vendee, the mortgagor or the mortgagee and others having a separate interest, and each may insure his own distinct insurable interest. The thing insured is not the property described, but the interest or estate of the insured therein.
The real question in the case seems to resolve itself into this: Does the phrase "the whole insurance covering the property," relate only to insurance in favor of the same assured, on the same interest? There may be "as many several insurances upon the same property as there are separate interests." ( DeWitt v. Agricultural Ins. Co., 157 N.Y. 353, 360.) An insurable interest is vested in the vendor, the vendee, the mortgagor or the mortgagee and others having a separate interest and each may insure his own distinct insurable interest.