Gazebo Covered as Outdoor Fixture

 

Our insured—a church covered under a CP 00 10 04 02—has a gazebo that existed on the property grounds when the insurance policy was issued. A windstorm caused a tree to fall and crush the gazebo. The carrier stated that the gazebo was not covered. There is no specific exclusion or limitation for gazebo. We feel it could fall under many areas of coverage, such as completed additions, outdoor fixtures, or under the collapse section as a yard fixture. Do you think a gazebo falls under one of the items we have listed and do you agree there should be coverage?

Kentucky Subscriber

 

The gazebo could be considered an outdoor fixture. Minus a definition of “fixture” in the policy, we can look to the plain, ordinary meaning found in a dictionary. “Fixture” has been defined as property annexed to realty, which we assume the gazebo was. So, yes, an argument can be made for coverage of the gazebo as an outdoor fixture.

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