Q
We insure a home under AAIS form 3, edition 2.0. The insured owns a go-kart that was damaged by one of the named perils. The insurer has denied the claim, because this vehicle is not used to “service the insured premises.”
In reviewing this issue, we have found two different opinions on what it means to “service the insured premises.” The first is a more conservative interpretation that says that in order to be covered under the homeowners policy the vehicle must be physically used for things such as moving dirt, hauling wood, pulling a wagon, etc. The other opinion includes “recreational use” within the parameters of “servic[ing] the insured premises.” In other words, just riding the go-kart for fun would constitute “servic[ing] the insured premises.”
May we have your opinion?
Missouri Subscriber
A
The homeowners policy specifies that it does not cover motor vehicles, because they are more appropriately covered on a personal auto policy. However, it does recognize that a homeowner may have certain types of “vehicles” around the home that are used to “service” it (such as a lawn tractor). The policy provides an exception for such vehicles.
Mere use of a go-kart for one's own enjoyment cannot be interpreted as using it to “service the residence premises.” Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary says that to service means to “repair or provide maintenance.”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed with this interpretation in Tenos v. State Farm, 716 A.2d 626 (1998). That court concluded that “the common usage of 'service', in this context, contemplates some sort of maintenance or repair to the premises. In fact, the plain, ordinary and everyday meaning of the term 'service' simply does not conjure thoughts of recreation.”
When writing the exception for certain vehicles, the policywriters had in mind things such as riding lawn mowers. We don't believe that this exception can be stretched to include a go-kart. The insurer was correct to deny the claim.
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