The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reversed the ruling of the Business and Consumer Court of Maine and held that an insurer failed to adequately inform a wood pellet mill operator that it was not renewing its coverage in connection with payment for a fire that caused $15 million in damages. The case is Corinth Pellets, LLC v. Arch Specialty Insurance Co. et al. 

Arch Capital Group Ltd. unit Arch Specialty Insurance Co. issued a surplus lines policy to Corinth Pellets LLC. The policy covered property loss, business interruption, and extra expenses for an initial term of January 2017 to January 2018. Coverage was subsequently extended for three consecutive three-month terms, to September 18, 2018.

At the beginning of September 2018, an agent for broker Varner Agency Inc. informed Corinth that Arch would not renew the policy any longer after the termination date of September 18. The agent informed Corinth that he was in the process of finding a new insurance policy and that the company had no need to do anything else. The day before the policy terminated, though, the agent notified Corinth that it could not provide a firm quote from an insurer, and no substitute property coverage was found for Corinth before September 19th.