September 2014 Intro Page

Dec Page

The article of the month in the Dec Page deals with ensuing losses. These losses are exceptions to an exclusion found in many insurance policies. Questions can arise as to what exactly is an ensuing loss and how that differs from a direct loss. The article of the month discusses the definition of ensuing loss and summarizes court cases that help clarify the issue. See the designated article in the Bulletins.

The court cases in the Dec Page come from several sources. The United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, ruled on the applicability of the policy's vacancy clause pertaining to a theft claim. In another vacancy clause case, the Appellate Court of Connecticut held that the word “vacant” as used in the insurance policy was susceptible to only one reading and is not ambiguous. A claimant was injured in a golf cart accident and sought uninsured motorist benefits. The Superior Court of Connecticut looked to the definition of “motor vehicle” found in the state statutes to determine whether the claimant could receive those benefits. The last case comes from the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, New York and answers the question of whether the word “person” applies to a corporation when it comes to coverage under the personal and advertising injury insuring agreement in the general liability policy. (Hint: the New York court relied on the dictionary and commonly understood meaning of the term and not on the opinion of the United States Supreme Court.)

Questions and Answers

Is the definition of “your product” the same in Michigan as Nebraska? See “Your Product” Defined. Does the personal auto policy provide coverage for loss of consortium? See Loss of Consortium. If a plumbing subcontractor accidentally drilled oversized piping holes, is there coverage for the compromised framework? See Occurrence or Faulty Workmanship.

If insured lessee damaged a staircase in the common area of the building while cleaning it, will the damage be excluded under the businessowners policy? See Common Area Staircase Damaged. If the insured carpet cleaning business damaged previously cleaned carpet while working on customer's chimney, will the damage to the carpet be covered? See Damage to Your Property or Damage to Your Work. How do the words “impact with another object” effect whether a claim should be collision or other than collision? See Comp or Collision Revisited.

The Business Income Report/Worksheet—Step-by-Step

Giving advice on completing a business income worksheet has always been a daunting task for insurance practitioners because doing it properly requires a specialized knowledge not only of time element insurance but also of accounting terms and procedures. This article is designed to take the reader, step by step, through the pages of the Insurance Services Office Business Income Report/Worksheet.

The article was reviewed, and minor changes were made throughout. See: Business Income Worksheet—Step-by-Step.

Dwelling Theft

Theft is not generally covered in the dwelling policy forms and must be added by endorsement. This article discusses updates to the limited and broad dwelling theft endorsements in the ISO 2014 dwelling program.

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