Asmaro v. Jefferson Ins. Co

In Asmaro v. Jefferson Ins. Co., 62 Ohio App. 3d 110, 574 N.E.2d 1118 (Ohio Ct. App. 1980), the Ohio Court of Appeals addressed whether Asmaro, Inc., which owned a business operated in a building destroyed by fire, had an insurable interest in the building. See 574 N.E.2d at 1120. The court held that Alaa Asmaro, the owner of the building and the sole stockholder of Asmaro, Inc., although he had an insurable interest, could not recover because he was not the named insured on the policy. Asmaro, Inc., the named insured, was held to have an insurable interest, even though it did not have a property interest, on the basis of its economic relationship to the property. See id. at 1121. The court concluded that Asmaro, Inc., had an insurable interest in the building because its business was a neighborhood grocery store, dependent on walk-in customers, that would suffer a loss if it were forced to relocate by damage to the building. See id. Thus, the court found an insurable interest based on the fact that the location of the building was integral to the success of the business.