Virtual University

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 now says she needs to get her own policies since she’ll be living off campus? Is that correct?

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Lawyers Are Reckless: Reasonable Recommendations Result in Uncovered Loss

No need to sugar-coat my opinion about lawyers. But, lest you think I’m just being mean, the crux of this article is that lawyers make reasonable and even good recommendations without knowing the insurance ramifications. An unfortunate loss situation is the basis for this article.

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Lawyers Dwell On Small Details: Court Defines “The” -- The Sometimes Overlooked Issue

Attorney Randy Maniloff introduces us to the difference between “the” insured and “an” or “any” insured in the insurance policy. Many ignore these little words (“the,” “an” or “any”) in the policy, but, as Randy states, policy language is king, and these seemingly innocuous words have an amazing affect on coverage.

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Trusts: Watch Out – Lawyers Strike Again

Trusts are often used as a means to avoid some of the issues related to probate and estate taxes. However, the lawyers rarely tell insureds that when a trust is set up changes must be made to the homeowners’ policy in the form of specific endorsements as the person’s relationship to the house has changed. We have to ask every year – never assume – because lawyers don’t think about it.

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Additional Insureds vs. Additional Interests

Increasingly, HO insureds are being asked by third parties to provide evidence of insurance protecting their alleged interests. Unlike CGL additional insured endorsements, which are many and varied, the ISO HO program only provides one AI endorsement and one additional interest endorsement. So, what's the difference and when is each appropriate?

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HO Coverage for Volunteer Board Service

Many people are often asked to serve in a volunteer capacity as board members on non-profits, school PTA organizations and booster clubs, church boards, and civic organizations. If sued, would these people have any coverage under their homeowners policies?

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Insuring Volunteers - Personal Lines

Many people are often asked to serve in a volunteer capacity as board members on non-profits, school PTA organizations and booster clubs, church boards, and civic organizations, or they may serve as Scouting leaders, athletic coaches, or in other volunteer capacities. Do they have any coverage under their personal lines policies?

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Personal Trusts and the HO Policy

While trusts have been around for years, there is an increasing use of them for tax and liability purposes. Only recently has the insurance industry begun to address insurance issues in the personal lines area. The primary problem with using the traditional homeowners policy to insure trusts is that the policy is designed for individuals, not LLCs and corporations.

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The Homeowners Policy and College Students

Kids away at college often present unique exposures to loss, many of them potentially catastrophic. So, it's important to know how much coverage if any, is provided by the parents' personal lines package. In this article, based on a question received from a life agent by our 'Ask an Expert' service, we'll examine what HO property coverage is available.

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Who is a "Resident" Under a Personal Lines Policy?

Almost every personal lines policy uses the term 'resident' somewhere in the form. A 'resident' relative usually has coverage that is broader than any other class of insured except for the named insured(s). However, few (if any) policies define the term 'resident.' In this article, we'll take a look at how the courts have evaluated residency.

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