Legal Question in Insurance Law in Illinois

Not necessarily. You need to read the entire policy and if you're not sure have an attorney help. That being said, what it normally means, is that once there is a fire loss the insurance company will "adjust" the loss (decide how much it is) and then give you a check in return for a release that could terminate the policy and provide no further insurance protection. Before you agree to the amount you may want to have a contractor confirm the insurance company's numbers. But once the check is issued you would then normally have the right to do with the money what you want, but if you are left in an uninsured situation, that would not be a good thing. A to your comment about "buying it" I don't understand what you mean.