Wind Loss and Golf Course Restoration

Q

Recently a heavy wind came through a local golf course and took down a 150 year old, seventy-five foot tree. The particular hole where the tree stood was designed around the tree; the tree gave the hole a substantial difficulty rating.

The insurer has offered $500 for the tree (the policy limit for trees, shrubs, and plants) but we do not think the insured is fully compensated for this loss. After all, a golf course is more than just a path cut through trees. The rating and degree of difficulty have been substantially impacted by this loss, and we think the insurer owes for the cost to reconfigure the hole.

May we have your opinion?

Massachusetts Subscriber

A

You are correct in that a golf course is more than just the sum of its parts. However, the golf facilities coverage form your insured has states that the insurer will pay for direct physical loss or damage by a covered cause of loss, which, in this case, is wind. If the tree in falling damaged the green or fairway—tearing it up, perhaps—then the cost to repair that damage is covered by the policy. The cost to remove the tree is also covered.

What is not covered, however, is the cost to reconfigure the golf course in order to restore the course's level of difficulty. That is a consequential loss that is not addressed by the insured's policy.

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