Property insurance policies vary in their application of coverage and exclusions when it comes to the peril of earth movement. Some may only apply to earthquake and/or other naturally caused movements, whereas others take a broader approach and will include all types of earth movement, even man-made. When negotiating terms of coverage, pursuing the broader […]
Property Insurance
Coverage for Expenses Indirectly Arising from a Covered Peril
In a recent post, I mentioned a court ruling that did not apply the water damage sublimit on a property policy to the cost of tearing out corroded pipes and concrete slab that were a necessary expense to a repair, but were not the direct result of the covered peril – water damage. I suggested […]
Water Damage Coverage, Exclusions, and Sublimits
Water damage has become a common point of coverage negotiation on property policies and can often be sub-limited or even excluded from coverage. Two recent decisions from the Florida appellate courts highlight the ambiguous nature of water damage claims and how they are interpreted by the courts. A Florida appellate court recently found in favor […]
Fine Arts Coverage
Businesses that decorate their workplace and offices with fine arts i.e. paintings, statutes, rugs, sculptures, and other artwork, should purchase fine arts coverage and not rely on the business personal property (BPP) coverage afforded by their commercial property policy. Commercial property policies that provide replacement cost valuation for BPP are not the appropriate method for […]
More Rigorous Lending Practices May Prove Beneficial for Insurance Underwriting
As was expected in the wake of the Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside, the insurance underwriting and quoting process for condo associations, particularly in Florida, became more rigorous. Interestingly, mortgage banks are now taking a similarly cautious approach to their lending practices when it comes to condo associations. According to a report from the Miami […]
Get Clarity on the Various Forms of Water Damage Coverage
Different forms of water damage may be covered under different causes of loss on a property policy and understanding the differences is important since their limits, deductibles, and whether coverage even applies can vary between different water damage scenarios. Aside for the term “water damage” itself, flood, sewer backup, storm surge, named storm, hurricane, wind […]
Review and Discuss Policy Exclusions with Policyholders
Yesterday I was on the road all day and met a number of insurance brokers along the way. One of them shared with me a claim dispute a client of his was dealing with. The client, a clothing retailer, suffered a significant loss from “riots and civil commotion” at one of their stores during the […]
Don’t Overlook Pollutant Cleanup and Removal Coverage
Pollutant cleanup and removal is an often overlooked coverage on property policies. It affords coverage for the costs to remove or extract pollutants from land or water at an insured location if the release of pollutants arose from direct damage from a specified peril. Property policies commonly provide limits of $10k or $25k, with some […]