Many fire and homeowners policies contain contract periods of limitation which require the insured to bring suit against the carrier in shorter time frames than the applicable statute of limitations for contract and tort claims. In fact, most homeowners and fire policies for private or residence dwellings, including rental or leased units, have one year suits against the carrier provisions contained in the policy. What these provisions mean is that your lawsuit must actually be filed within one year of the actual date of loss or contract claims under the policy are forever barred against the insurance carrier. Thus, if the date of loss is December 14, 2026, you must file suit against the insurance carrier to preserve any breach of contract claims no later than December 14, 2027. Failure to bring suit within this period of time, unless there has been an express written waiver by the carrier regarding the policy provision, will bar the contract claims in the policy.
A typical contract limitation suit provision in these policies reads as follows:
Suit against us. No action shall be brought unless there has been compliance with the policy provisions and the action is started within one year after the loss of damage.
Pro Tip
If the one year suits against the carrier provision is about to run and you are not sure what to do, and you believe you might be able to make some progress and ultimately resolve the case without suit, you or your lawyer can contact the insurance carrier or the attorney representing the insurance carrier and ask for a written waiver of the suit limitation provision to a specified time. Some carriers will grant such extensions, others will not. A 3-month extension could give you the time to settle and adjust the claim. With that being said, it’s my ordinary practice these days to simply file a lawsuit and serve it. One more reminder, if the insurance carrier violated WAC 284-30-380 by failing to notify the insured of the approaching time limitation (if there is no legal representation for the insured), that is a violation of the Insurance Fair Conduct Act.