Insurance Company v. Chase was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1866. The case involved a dispute between an insurance company and a bank over a loan. The insurance company had loaned money to the bank, and the bank had used the money to purchase bonds. The bonds were then sold to a third party, and the proceeds were used to pay off the loan. The insurance company argued that the bank had breached its contract by not using the loan proceeds to purchase the bonds. The Supreme Court held that the bank had not breached its contract, and that the insurance company was not entitled to any damages. The Court reasoned that the bank had acted in good faith and had not acted fraudulently or with intent to deceive. The Court also noted that the insurance company had not taken any steps to protect itself from the risk of the loan not being repaid. The Court concluded that the insurance company was not entitled to any damages and that the bank was not liable for any breach of contract.

In Insurance Company v. Chase, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a policy of insurance issued by an insurer to cover goods shipped on board a vessel that had been lost at sea should be paid out in full or if it should be reduced due to the fact that some of those goods were recovered before they reached their destination. The majority opinion held that since the insured had not received any benefit from the recovery of these goods, and thus did not suffer any loss as a result, they were entitled to receive payment in full for their losses. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision arguing that while it is true that no actual benefit was derived from recovering part of the cargo prior to its arrival at its intended destination, there still existed potential benefits which could have accrued had all of the cargo arrived safely and intact. Therefore he argued that since these potential benefits were denied due to partial loss suffered during transit then some reduction in payment owed by insurers would be appropriate under such circumstances.