I’ve discussed or mentioned water damage claims in several columns this year, from plumbing leaks to widespread geographical flooding. As plumbing systems age, increasingly the number one cause of homeowners claims unrelated to weather involve water leaks. These potential losses …
A number of years ago, I worked with an agency that specialized in insuring residential condominiums. Their personal lines department focused on insuring unit owners, including homeowners who owned condos as secondary homes. Their commercial lines department insured many dozens …
Ambiguity and incomprehensibility seem to be the favorite tools of the insurance trade in drafting policies. Most are a virtually impenetrable thicket of incomprehensible verbosity. It seems that insurers generally are attempting to convince the customer when selling the policy …
In 2004, almost 18 years ago, I began an initiative to expose one of the most onerous and egregious provisions of any mainstream personal lines policy I had ever seen. The article was entitled “Rent Your Home, Void Your Insurance …
During my 17-year stint at the Big “I” national association, I received tens of thousands of coverage questions from member agents. One of the most common questions was whether someone needed [insert type of policy here] insurance for certain activities. …
As I have expressed on many occasions, I believe the myth that insurance is a commodity differentiated only by price is the greatest misconception perpetrated on the public. Sadly, most of the misconception comes from our own industry in the …
Two of my pet peeves involve certain types of coverage questions that I’ve received over the years. The first one begins with something like, “Does a [insert type of policy here] cover …?” The key word here is “a.” Does …
“Whether four years of strenuous attention to football and fraternities is the best preparation for professional work has never been seriously investigated.” – Robert Maynard Hutchins While this quote from a former University of Chicago president may be of some …
The first time I can recall asking this question was in 2010 and it involved a claim denial under personal auto uninsured motorists and medical payments coverages for someone who was hit by a car while sitting on a snowmobile …
Recently I was reading an article from the University of Pennsylvania Law Review entitled, “The Illusory Coverage Doctrine: A Critical Review.” According to the article, the Illusory Coverage Doctrine “is a doctrine of insurance contract enforceability, as opposed to interpretation, …
