August 6, 2013

Our question is related to interpretation of Form ISO DP 00 03 12 02, P. 1 of 9, Item C, Coverage C -Personal Property – Covered Property which reads: "We cover personal property usual to the occupancy as a dwelling and owned or used by you or members of your family residing with you while it is on the Described Location after a loss and at your request, we will cover personal property owned by a guest or servant while the property is on the Described Location."

 The question then is, if "you & your family" are a blended family who have lived in the described location where you are the named insured for a number of years prior to a covered peril, is there any reason to suppose "your family's" possessions would not be covered when submitted with your inventory of lost contents? Especially given the fact that not all families today are traditional in nature? In this family the couple is common law married, which is legal in their state, and they have raised their children from previous marriages jointly.

Iowa Subscriber

What's important is the policy language, and the DP 00 03 states that "you' and "your" are the named insured and spouse. Since Iowa does still recognize common law marriage, they seem to fit the definition. Do the neighbors consider them married, do they represent themselves to doctors and other service professionals as married, and how do they file their taxes? All of these things may help their case to the carrier; it is critically important to the status of common law married that they hold themselves out to be married, not just long term cohabitants. For future reference, it would be to their benefit to establish wills and power of attorney so that in case of an accident or illness there is no confusion. However, if the children are out of the household, any of their belongings left in the home are not covered as they are no longer resident relatives.

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