VU Resources

CP Coverage for Docks

A dock is damaged by a covered peril but the carrier denies the claim, citing the “piers, wharves, docks” exclusion. You argue that his language applies to permanent docks, not portable docks like the one damaged. Who’s right and, if the insurer is correct, is there a solution for this coverage gap?

Coverage for Business Personal Property Off Premises

A surveyor’s equipment was stolen while on a job site. The adjuster denied the claim under the CP 00 10 Property Off-premises coverage, citing the exclusion for such property while on a premises you “own, lease or operate,” and claiming the insured was “operating” on the premises. Is this a correct interpretation?

Insuring Commercial Tenant Lease Requirements

A prospect’s lease requires that the tenant (him) be responsible for only the heating and air conditioning system (HVAC) under a provision that the tenant “maintain, repair and replace” the system. So I need to be certain that my insured’s policy has coverage for the HVAC system. Would the tenant’s improvements and betterments coverage in…

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Insuring Leased Real Property…An E&O Time Bomb

Your insured leases (all or a part of) a building and the lease makes him responsible for damage to the HVAC equipment. The lease might also make him responsible for other real property beyond just the space he occupies. He has a BOP policy for his business personal property…does the FDLL coverage take care of…

Coverage for Property Damage Caused by Toilet Overflow

A toilet overflows in a 4-story frame condo building and causes damage to structural components on all floors. Does the ISO CP 10 30 Special Causes of Loss cover this? What about their BOP policy? Would an ISO HO-3 cover a similar loss in a home?

Property Coverage for Damage Caused by Windblown Lake Ice

A home is located on a lake that is covered in ice during the winter. In the spring, when the ice breaks up, a strong wind “pushes” ice across the lake and the backyard and into the dwelling. Is this damage covered by an HO policy? If it’s a commercial building, is it covered? What…

Bad Exclusions, Trial Lawyers, and Big I Advocacy

Sometimes we come across policy exclusions that shouldn’t be there but, due to human error, they’re there. If such inappropriate exclusions are used to deny a claim, what should be done? One view is to sue, sue, sue those greedy insurance companies. Another view is resolve the problem without litigation and work to change the…

Law.

Thermal damage to Vinyl Siding…Covered by an HO Policy?

A homeowner has his vinyl siding painted a darker color. Direct or reflected sunlight then causes the siding to warp. Does his HO policy cover this damage? If liable, does a neighbor’s HO policy cover a liability claim that the damage was due to reflected light from the neighbor’s windows? To answer the question of…

Row of colorful, red, yellow, blue, white, green painted residential townhouses, homes, houses with brick patio gardens in summer

Commercial Property Coverage for Public Water Main Breaks

In July 2015, on the campus of UCLA, a 30-inch water main had some sort of catastrophic failure, causing a massive geyser of water, estimated to be around 30-feet high, to erupt from under the road. Over 20,000,000 gallons of water gushed into campus buildings and lower levels of parking decks, stranding over 1,000 cars.…

04 February 2019 Townsville, Qld - Suburbs adjacent to Townsville's Ross River were flooded when two millions litres of water was released every second from the city's dam. Unprecedented rainfall in the week leading up to this event saw the dam's level rise to nearly 250% - Photo: Cameron Laird (Ph: 0418 238811 - [email protected])

HO Dock Damage…Water or Wind?

A boat dock was damaged by boats blown in a windstorm. The adjuster has denied the claim, citing the “water damage” exclusion reference to water damage “whether or not driven by wind.” Does this exclusion apply in this non-ISO homeowners policy?