Summary: Theft coverage for personal property may be added by endorsement to any of the three dwelling property forms. Two theft endorsements—providing either limited or broad coverage—are available. The limited form provides coverage for direct physical loss to personal property owned or used by the named insured or owned by a residence employee only while the property is at the described location or placed for safekeeping. The broad form provides coverage for property owned or used by “an insured,” a broader term defined as the named insured, resident relatives, a student away at school if under age twenty-four, and other residents under the age of 21. The broad form provides on- and off- premises coverage. The broad form also provides automatic removal coverage for personal property at and in-transit to newly acquired principal residences. Both forms contain special limits of liability, the broad form providing coverage on additional types of property not covered under the limited form.

The forms have been revised with the 2014 dwellings program; the new forms are compared with the older forms in this discussion. Note that the earliest effective date of the new program is July 2014, so be sure to check before assuming the 2014 edition is effective in your area.

Topics covered:

Eligibility

Insuring agreement

Definitions

On premises coverage

Broad form off-premises coverage

Automatic removal coverage (broad form only)

Special limits of liability

Property not covered

Conditions

Eligibility

 A residence that is a dwelling, co-op, or condominium unit must be owner-occupied to be eligible to use broad theft coverage endorsement DP 04 72 07 14. If the residence is an apartment, it must be occupied by a tenant named insured. Once this occupancy requirement is met, both on and off-premises theft coverage is available. However, off-premises coverage may be purchased only if on-premises coverage is also purchased. Further, the limit for off-premises coverage may not exceed the on-premises limit. The minimum theft limit for both on and off premises is $1,000.

 For non-owner occupied dwellings, co-ops, condominiums, or for apartments occupied by other than a named insured, limited theft coverage endorsement DP 04 73 07 14 may be purchased. It provides on-premises coverage only and has the same minimum limit of liability—$1,000—as the broad form.

 Insuring Agreement

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 For the limit of liability shown in the Schedule above for this coverage, we insure against direct physical loss to personal property owned or used by you [limited form] or an “insured” [broad form] caused by the Perils Insured Against named below.

A.     Perils Insured Against

1.     Theft, including attempted theft.

2. Vandalism or malicious mischief as a result of theft or attempted theft. This peril does not include:

a. Loss at the Described Location; and

b. Any ensuing loss caused by any intentional and wrongful act committed in the course of the vandalism or malicious mischief; if the dwelling has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days immediately before the loss. A dwelling being constructed is not considered vacant.

 Analysis

 The insured perils on both endorsements are theft (including attempted theft) and vandalism and malicious mischief damage resulting from theft. Without endorsement, the dwelling forms do not cover theft of personal property. Although the DP 00 03 07 14covers theft or attempted theft of property if part of a covered building, and vandalism or malicious mischief under coverage A dwelling, and form DP 00 02 07 14 covers vandalism or malicious mischief, by adding one of these endorsements the insured need not have the burden of proving that vandalism arose independently from an attempted theft. And, both endorsements provide theft coverage for personal property, which is not covered by the unendorsed forms.

 The insuring agreement of the limited theft coverage form promises to insure against direct physical loss to personal property owned or used by “you.” This means the named insured and, if a resident of the same household, the spouse. In contrast, the insuring agreement of the broad theft endorsement refers to coverage for an “insured,” a broader term defined as the named insured, resident relatives, a full-time student away at school, and other residents under the age of twenty-one.

 The vacancy exclusion does not apply until the dwelling has been vacant for more than sixty consecutive days. There is no coverage for an intentional and wrongful act committed in the course of the vandalism or malicious mischief after the sixty days. The wording has been added to clarify a situation that could arise such as when a thief, to cover the theft, sets fire to the insured building. Without the wording, some courts have held that only coverage for the theft was excluded after the time limit, but the ensuing fire was covered.

 Definitions

 The current editions of the forms contain definitions that are similar to definitions in the ISO homeowners 2011 forms. For more information, see ISO Homeowners Definitions.