A client had frozen sprinkler pipes in his building. They are above the ceiling so no other pipes in the building froze. It is questionable at this point as to whether or not heat was maintained in the building. The Frozen Plumbing Exclusion states:

"Water, other liquids, power or molten material that leaks or flows from plumbing, heating, air conditioning or other equipment (except fire protective equipment) caused by or resulting from freezing, unless: 1. You do your best to maintain heat in the building or structure; or 2. You drain the equipment and shut off the supply if the heat is not maintained."

This seems to separate fire protective equipment from this exclusion therefore allowing coverage. Am I wrong on this?

Second, the building has been held for rent for 4 months. Is a building that is held for rent considered vacant? There is no tenant in the building but it is actively being advertised by a realty agent and they have had showings in the building on multiple occasions.

New Hampshire Subscriber

You are correct that the exclusion separates fire protective equipment from the frozen plumbing exclusion. However, the CP 00 10′s vacancy provision states that when the policy is issued to a building owner, the building is considered vacant unless at least 31 percent of the total square footage is rented to a lessee or sub-lessee to conduct customary operations and/or used by the building owner to conduct customary operations; if it is being renovated or is under construction, it is not considered vacant. Otherwise, under this provision, your insured's building would be classified as vacant, and the policy will not pay for loss or damage for sprinkler leakage (unless the insured has protected the system against freezing) if the building has been vacant for more than sixty consecutive days.

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