How Vacant is Vacant – But What if it’s NOT Vacant?
Vacant land, or what qualifies as vacant land, is a common question for the VU. Two recent “Ask an Expert” questions specific to vacant land indicated the need to address…
Homeowners
Ignore the Bank, Go With Replacement Cost
Everyday agents are asked, well required, by banks to provide Coverage A limits in excess of the developed replacement cost. Why are such requests made? So that Coverage A limits…
When Sweet Fifi Bites
More than one-third of homeowners’ insurance liability claims are attributable to dog bites according to a 2016 Insurance Information Institute (III) report. III reported that the average cost of a…
Condominiums Revisited
This piece answers three condo questions for unit owners. First, when the unit owner is responsible for insuring unit improvements and betterments, is this limited to improvements made by them…
Insuring a ‘Box of Air’
Although the unit owner doesn’t own the entire structure, they may have responsibility for insuring some “real property” elements that are part of the building. And the only way to…
Condo Associations and the NFIP
What happens with there is not enough coverage from the NFIP to cover the condo association. Do the unit owners purchase their own coverage or does the association have to…
Insured’s Party Gives Her Insurance Agent Heartburn
A customer is considering hosting a party for a church group on a property someone is giving her free access to. If there is a liability claim, will her ISO…
HO Coverage for College Student Residing in an Apartment
Your insured’s 21 year old daughter is moving from a dorm to an apartment at college. She has been covered on your family HO and PUP policies but the underwriter…
Swimming Pools…HO Coverage A or B?
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,…
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…
