Personal Lines

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…

BROWSTOWN, MICHIGAN-SEPTEMBER 20, 2019: Condominium homes in an upscale Detroit suburb.

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…

House choice and real estate concepts, original 3d rendering

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…

Exterior view of modern apartment building offering luxury rental units in Silicon Valley; Livermore, East San Francisco bay area, California

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…

HO Coverage for Damage Caused by Falling Tree

What happens if an insured’s tree falls and damages property or injures someone on a neighbor’s premises? If the occurrence is caused by an “Act of God,” is the insured…

wooden figurines of a family in a house drawn with white chalk and rain from a cloud. Real estate and family insurance concept. Natural disaster protection, copy space

The Danger of Relying on Automatic Coverages

From “host liquor” in a CGL policy to “vacant land” in an HO policy, we often relying on automatic coverages for certain exposures to cover an insured who has an…

How to Misread an Insurance Policy

A claim was filed against a homeowner for a child injured at a facility being rented by the homeowner. The adjuster has denied the claim, but is the denial correct?…