A bill requiring Homeowners' insurance policies in Connecticut to provide coverage for the peril of collapse and mitigation undertaken to prevent all or part of a covered dwelling from falling down or caving in recently failed in the Connecticut Legislature.

Following a narrow 10–9 joint favorable report from the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, the Connecticut Legislature did not act on House Bill No. 5522, "An Act Concerning Homeowners Insurance Policies and Coverage For The Peril Of Collapse" (HB 5522).

Significant for insurers 

The demise of HB 5522 is significant for insurers since homeowners policies are not intended to serve as a home warranty or cover nonfortuitous/nonaccidental losses, latent defects, improper workmanship/construction and defective materials.

More significantly, HB 5522, aside from myriad coverage issues created by the bill's language, would have likely resulted in premium hikes for Connecticut homeowners to cover what courts have repeatedly found to be uncovered claims.

Coverage requirements defeated

HB 5522 would have required every insurance company delivering, issuing for delivery, renewing, amending, or endorsing a homeowners policy in Connecticut on or after the effective date (from passage of the legislation) to provide coverage for:

1. The peril of collapse, including partial or total impairment of a covered dwelling's structural integrity due to facts such as (a) hidden decay or (b) defective materials or construction methods used in constructing or renovating part or all of the building; and
2. Any mitigation taken to prevent all or part of a covered dwelling from falling down or caving in.

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