The most important — and often toughest — part of an adjuster's job is determining coverage. Each month, Claims publishes a coverage question asked by an insurance professional, along with an answer provided by the dedicated editorial staff of FC&S Online (which, like Claims, is a division of the National Underwriter Company). With the biggest football game of the year this month, let's take a look at a coverage question concerning sporting equipment.

Question: The insured is a school district with a commercial property form providing coverage for “direct physical loss.” Football helmets were stored in a building that sustained fire loss. Helmets were cleaned to assure no smoke odor. Inspection of helmet reveals no sign of physical damage and expert opines that the heat was not intense enough in the area of helmet storage to cause physical damage. The helmet manufacturer refuses to certify the helmets due to exposure to fire loss and potential damage. The school is without the use of the helmets without required certification. The insurer claims loss of use of property absent direct physical loss is not a covered loss. Do you agree? -Texas Subscriber.

Answer: Yes, we do agree with the insurer. Since there is no physical loss to the helmets, the only loss is their use. The ISO Building and Personal Property form, CP 10 30 04 02 states, “We will not pay for loss or damage caused by or resulting from…loss of use.”