Is it taxidermy or art? Utah business owner's insurance claim hinges on the distinction

COALVILLE — E.J. Sutton hauls taxidermy. That's his business. And that's what he says he went shopping for insurance to protect.

"I don't haul groceries, I don't haul commodities, I haul taxidermy." he said. "That's what I need insurance for."

He thought he got it.

The paperwork from Progressive Insurance shows $200,000 in cargo coverage.

Under "rated commodities" are the types of cargo that you might expect to see if you told your agent you needed taxidermy coverage including "skins," "furs" and, "other textiles."

Then came an accident

Near Browning, Montana, Sutton said a gust of wind lifted his trailer and threw it off the road. The mounted animals inside were damaged.

Sutton turned to Progressive Insurance, but his claim was largely denied. Progressive Insurance's letter calls the cargo "art" and cites the policy's exclusion for objects of art.

"We consider it artwork and we're not going to cover it," Sutton said he was told.

Skins and furs on one page, excluded artwork on another. For Sutton, that's a distinction he thought he'd sorted out before something went wrong.

"Why didn't you have the right insurance?" I asked.

"Well, because I thought I did!" Sutton replied.

Sutton's appeals to the insurance company haven't moved the needle much. He was sent a check for $436.59 to cover an alligator rug, but that does not cover the lion's share of damage done to a mounted mountain lion, or the other stuffed beasts.

"I've talked to them. I still keep getting the same answer," Sutton said. "I feel like I'm getting duped."

The insurance company's response

I contacted Progressive Insurance on Sutton's behalf, asking why it classified the taxidermy as artwork and how that squares with the skins and furs listed in his paperwork. The company declined to answer those questions, with a spokesperson writing that they "can't publicly discuss the details of a customer's policy or any individual claim."

The limits of state regulators

Utah's Insurance Department Commissioner Jon Pike says getting the right insurance starts with making sure your agent understands exactly what you do and what could go wrong.

"It's imperative, you know, that you understand your risk and that your agent understands your risk," Pike said. "If you don't get what you need and you get a surprise one day, that's obviously unfortunate and can be really hazardous to your business."

Spelling it out is exactly what Sutton said he thought he did. He was still denied.

Pike said someone disputing a denial can ask the insurance department to review it, but the department's ability to help has limits.

"If it's really language, if it's exclusions, if it's something where there's just really a legal disagreement, you might need to take it to the courts," Pike said. "Unfortunately that's the way a lot of these have to go."

That's precisely where Sutton is now going. He's hired an attorney, he said, trying to get the protection he thought he'd already paid for.

"I don't understand why my insurance didn't cover me for what I was hauling because that's all I haul," he said.

Coverage gaps

You don't have to haul taxidermy to run into a coverage gap. I've reported on drivers whose claims were denied after crashes while delivering pizza or driving for work. They hadn't talked with their agents about how they were using their cars.

So have that conversation before a crash. Explain what you drive, what you haul and how you use it.

Ask what's covered, and get the answer in writing.

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