South Carolina Code of Laws (Unannotated), Title 38 (Insurance), Chapter 75 (Property, Casualty, Inland Marine, and Title Insurance). Text fetched from the South Carolina Legislature’s official site (scstatehouse.gov) on August 6, 2026. This is South Carolina’s valued-policy provision for real property fire losses: in a total loss by fire, the insured recovers the full amount of insurance stated in the policy; in a partial loss, the actual amount of the loss up to the policy amount. It does not apply to chattels or personal property, and § 38-75-30 allows exemptions for manufacturing property and replacement-cost riders.
Verification note: this file was researched against a request citing “S.C. Code § 38-75-756.” That section does not exist — the official Chapter 75 section sequence runs …38-75-740, 38-75-750, 38-75-755, 38-75-760… with no 38-75-756 (confirmed against the full chapter text on scstatehouse.gov, August 6, 2026). The actual South Carolina valued-policy provision is this section, § 38-75-20. South Carolina’s appraisal rules for property claims come from policy language and case law (see the Harwell case file), not from a Chapter 75 statute.
Statutory text
No insurer doing business in this State may issue a fire insurance policy for more than the value stated in the policy or the value of the property to be insured. The amount of insurance must be fixed by the insurer and insured at or before the time of issuing the policy. In case of total loss by fire the insured is entitled to recover the full amount of insurance. In case of a partial loss by fire the insured is entitled to recover the actual amount of the loss but in no event more than the amount of the insurance stated in the contract. If two or more policies are written upon the same property, they are considered to be contributive insurance, and, if the aggregate sum of all such insurance exceeds the insurable value of the property, as agreed by the insurer and the insured, each insurer, in the event of a total or partial loss, is liable for its pro rata share of insurance. This section does not apply to insurance on chattels or personal property.
HISTORY: Former 1976 Code SECTION 38-9-190 [1947 (45) 322; 1948 (45) 1734; 1952 Code SECTION 37-154; 1962 Code SECTION 37-154] recodified as SECTION 38-75-20 by 1987 Act No. 155, SECTION 1.