Insurance Company v. Wilkinson was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1871. The case involved a dispute between an insurance company and a policyholder over the validity of a policy. The insurance company had issued a policy to the policyholder, but the policyholder had failed to pay the premiums. The insurance company then sought to have the policy declared void. The Supreme Court held that the policy was valid and enforceable. The Court reasoned that the policyholder had not acted in bad faith by failing to pay the premiums, and that the insurance company had not taken any action to void the policy. The Court also held that the policyholder had a reasonable expectation of coverage, and that the insurance company had not acted in bad faith by failing to provide coverage. The Court's decision in Insurance Company v. Wilkinson established that insurance companies must act in good faith when dealing with policyholders, and that policyholders have a reasonable expectation of coverage. The decision also established that insurance companies cannot unilaterally void policies without taking action to do so.

In Insurance Company v. Wilkinson, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether an insurance company could be held liable for a fire that had been caused by one of its employees. The majority opinion found in favor of the insurance company and held that it was not responsible for any damages resulting from the employee's negligence. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision and argued that the insurance company should have been held liable because it had hired someone who they knew or should have known posed a risk to their property due to his past history with fires. He further argued that since there were no contractual provisions limiting liability in such cases, then common law principles would apply which made them responsible for any damage caused by their employee’s negligence.