The Case of the Necessary Expense
By: Jonathan Hermann
I didn’t know what I hated most at this particular moment: the temperature, soaring high enough to cause a torrent of sweat to race down my back and puddle in my undershorts; the flies, orbiting my head like vultures circling a Weight-Watchers-sponsored marathon; or my Aunt Sadie’s ambrosia salad, which had an atrocious miniature marshmallow to fruit ratio of 10-to-1.
After one bite, the salad won. Ah, the Insura family reunion was off to a swell start.
Even though the location of the reunion changed each year from park to park, some things were always guaranteed to happen. First, my cousin Darrell would find an inventive way to lose his pants, like setting them on fire or finding a hornet’s nest in his pocket. Second, someone would get into a fight during a game of horseshoes. And finally, my cantankerous grandma, called Gizzy for reasons no one could recall, always asked me why I was single.
“Ace!” Gizzy yelled from across the picnic shelter, waddling over in a way that dangerously sloshed the contents of her red Dixie cup. “Why are you still single?”
“Because I can’t find a woman just like you,” I said with a limp smile.
“You don’t want a woman like me,” she countered, dragging her Virginia Slim. “You should aim for someone who actually likes you.”
“Bea,” I said to my cousin, an insurance agent standing nearby. “It’s our turn to fight over horseshoes. Let’s get out of here.”
Bea and I left the shaded shelter and walked to the horseshoe pit, where my first throw—a practice throw, might I add—sailed several feet past the stake.
“Nice shot,” she smirked.
“You know me, Bea, always going above and beyond what is necessary.”
“Speaking of, I have a client—a landlord—who wants to go above and beyond for his tenants, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Spill it.”
“An apartment building sustained fire and water damage due to a covered cause of loss. The landlord has really good tenants and wants to offer them vacant apartments in other buildings. In the meantime, he plans to set them up in hotels for a couple of nights until he can get this coordinated, but he doesn’t know if his BI w/EE form would cover it. Any ideas?”
“Ah, the old necessary expense quandary,” I said, rubbing my hairless chin in a sagacious manner. “But who’s to say what is or is not necessary?”
Why did Ace think it was necessary to ask that question? Click here to check your solution against Ace’s.
Jonathan Hermann (hermannism@gmail.com) is an IA contributing editor.
After one bite, the salad won. Ah, the Insura family reunion was off to a swell start.
Even though the location of the reunion changed each year from park to park, some things were always guaranteed to happen. First, my cousin Darrell would find an inventive way to lose his pants, like setting them on fire or finding a hornet’s nest in his pocket. Second, someone would get into a fight during a game of horseshoes. And finally, my cantankerous grandma, called Gizzy for reasons no one could recall, always asked me why I was single.
“Ace!” Gizzy yelled from across the picnic shelter, waddling over in a way that dangerously sloshed the contents of her red Dixie cup. “Why are you still single?”
“Because I can’t find a woman just like you,” I said with a limp smile.
“You don’t want a woman like me,” she countered, dragging her Virginia Slim. “You should aim for someone who actually likes you.”
“Bea,” I said to my cousin, an insurance agent standing nearby. “It’s our turn to fight over horseshoes. Let’s get out of here.”
Bea and I left the shaded shelter and walked to the horseshoe pit, where my first throw—a practice throw, might I add—sailed several feet past the stake.
“Nice shot,” she smirked.
“You know me, Bea, always going above and beyond what is necessary.”
“Speaking of, I have a client—a landlord—who wants to go above and beyond for his tenants, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Spill it.”
“An apartment building sustained fire and water damage due to a covered cause of loss. The landlord has really good tenants and wants to offer them vacant apartments in other buildings. In the meantime, he plans to set them up in hotels for a couple of nights until he can get this coordinated, but he doesn’t know if his BI w/EE form would cover it. Any ideas?”
“Ah, the old necessary expense quandary,” I said, rubbing my hairless chin in a sagacious manner. “But who’s to say what is or is not necessary?”
Why did Ace think it was necessary to ask that question? Click here to check your solution against Ace’s.
Jonathan Hermann (hermannism@gmail.com) is an IA contributing editor.
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