Statistics don’t lie, and all across the internet recently we see articles about underinsured homes throughout the U.S. After a loss is a terrible time to discover your insured’s policy limits are insufficient. How can today’s agents best help their insureds adequately protect their homes, even when it means a higher premium? Here are some…
Replacement cost estimators are a tool in the property underwriting process, but they are not intended to be exact. They are an organized guess based on data that changes, at times very quickly. Agents writing either commercial property or homeowners’ coverage would do well to reivew this content.
An agent asks: Are pets Covered under a homeowners’ policy?
Not to be overly dramatic, but ordinance or law is a very real personal lines exposure – often overlooked during the personal lines risk management and insurance planning process. Agents must explain the exposure, the coverage limits and the options. This article lays out the coverage, the problems and the options.
We often get questions about in ground pools and whether they’re HO Coverage A or B. HO guru David Thompson explains, with photos, why this isn’t always cut and dried, but provides some advice on how to reach a consensus with the underwriter.
Does the trees, shrubs and plants Additional Coverage in a Homeowners policy apply inside and outside the home? Does it apply to plants in a yard or to potted plants as well? Is there a difference in this coverage between ISO forms and between ISO and non-ISO forms?
A burst water pipe in a neighbor’s yard causes water damage to flooring in your insured landlord’s rental home. The rental home DP insurer denies the damage, citing the “surface water” exclusion. The neighbor’s HO insurer says they only have to pay ACV and won’t replace mismatched carpeting that wasn’t directly damaged. What can your…
Vandalism of grave markers at cemeteries is, unfortunately, a common loss exposure. When this happens, where is insurance coverage (if any) likely to be found? This article addresses the basic coverage issue. In a future update, we’ll address insurable interest concerns.
The insured’s brother-in-law was helping him clean up some storm damage when a tree limb damaged his lawn tractor. The adjuster denied the damage as a liability claim under the Damage to Property of Others because it requires the damage to be “caused by” an insured. In this case, the adjuster might be right…but that…
Here’s the scenario: Windstorm and/or hail has damaged shingles on the roof of your insured’s home. Since the roof is over 15 years old, replacing selected shingles with new ones will make the roof unsightly. So, of course, the insured wants the entire roof replaced. The carrier refuses, saying their only contractual obligation is to…
