Personal Lines

Our faculty handles plenty of simple questions. However, frequently we get questions that, on the surface, seem simple, but on further inspection prove to be quite problematic, even controversial. Here’s…

A child who was a passenger on an ATV was injured and the insurer denied the claim under a premises liability policy, citing an exclusion for the ownership, maintenance or…

The homeowners policy is designed primarily to cover golf carts while used to play golf. Unfortunately, they are often used for many other activities. This article takes a look at…

Most named perils property policies cover “windstorm.” Note that this doesn’t say “wind,” but rather “windSTORM.” So the question is, what constitutes a windstorm? This issue recently arose in an auto…

The insured sold her $29,000 ring…or so she thought. When she attempted to deposit the cashiers check, she learned that it was forged and the forger was long gone. When…

Last year’s swath of hurricanes brought numerous claims involving damage to boat docks and piers, along with numerous claim denials. Weather-related claims to boat docks are common elsewhere in the…

An insured sends brass bathroom fixtures to the manufacturer to be replated or replaced. They are lost by the manufacturer who refuses to replace them. Is this loss covered by…

Here’s a composite of THREE questions received by our “Ask an Expert” service in the past month: “Is there any coverage under the HO3 for a piece of furniture/washer/television (or…

What if snow that accumulates on a roof over time results in collapse? Could the carrier deny the claim, citing the “Neglect” exclusion in the HO policy due to the…

An insured suffered severe water damage to the interior of the second floor of a dwelling. A heavy rain storm caused water to accumulate on a second floor deck which…