Insurance Law Commons^™

The Insurance Policy As Social Instrument And Social Institution, Jeffrey W. Stempel

William & Mary Law Review

This Article suggests that insurance policies are not merely contracts but also are designed to perform particular risk management, deterrence, and compensation functions important to economic and social ordering. Recognizing this fact has significant implications regarding the manner in which insurance policies are construed in coverage disputes. From this insight flow interpretative consequences suggesting that policy construction can be improved by not only performing traditional contract analysis of disputed policies but also appreciating the particular function of the insurance policy in question as part of the insurance product’s larger role as a social and economic instrument or institution. Applying this …