Phillips v. Cincinnati Insurance Co

In Phillips v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., (1979), 60 Ohio St.2d 180, 181, 398 N.E.2d 564, the Ohio Supreme Court held that "a person taking out a policy must have an insurable interest in the subject matter of the insurance; otherwise the policy is void." Ohio Casualty contends that its insured, Janson Inc., had no insurable interest in the tub grinder because Janson Excavating Inc.--and not Janson Inc.--owned it. In Phillips, supra, the supreme court rejected a similar "title" argument, holding instead that "a person has an insurable interest in property whenever he would profit by or gain some advantage by its continued existence and suffer some loss or disadvantage by its destruction." Id. at 182.