Ward Hunt

“ He said also, 'The law exacts the utmost good faith in contracts of insurance, both on the part of the insured and the insurer; and a knowing and wilful over-valuation of property by the insured, with a view and purpose of obtaining insurance thereon for a greater sum than could otherwise be obtained, is a fraud upon the insurance company that avoids the policy. ”

“ Insurance agents, as well as other persons, know with what partiality most men estimate their property, and how much more valuable they esteem it when their own than when it is their neighbor's. They do not object to this principle when the premiums are received for issuing policies. It is only when losses occur that they seek to apply the more rigid test of actual value.
The value of a stock of goods is not always, nor usually, indicated by its purchase price. Such goods are often bought in the country to sell at retail and at a profit. ”

“ The writing produced contains no limitation of Vaughan's title, and expresses no right of possession or control in any person other than himself, except in the event that Harris & Co. should make advances. ”