Will Wind/Hail Cosmetic Damage Exclusion Endorsements Become the Norm?

Cosmetic damage from wind and hail to homeowner and commercial properties may no longer be covered if insurers opt to use new policy endorsements – one for homeowners and another for commercial roofs.

Two organizations that standardize forms and policies for property/casualty insurers, the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) and ISO, a member of the Verisk Insurance Solutions group at Verisk Analytics, have filed cosmetic damage endorsements.

AAIS and ISO created the forms at the request of member carriers that were experiencing an increase in insured losses from what they considered “cosmetic” wind and hail damage to a property. Cosmetic damage is damage that affects the appearance but not the function of a specific property component.

AAIS’ “cosmetic damage exclusion,” filed in most states in early February, works as an optional homeowner policy endorsement. It excludes coverage for exterior surfacing of walls, roofs, and/or doors and windows if wind and hail damage just affects the appearance of these surfaces but not their ability to keep weather-related or other elements from entering.

Because the endorsement is optional, insureds who receive it could get a premium credit, which would be a small percentage of the premium as it relates to wind and hail.

“Insurers have reported to us that they are seeing more of these types of claims, and their only response would be to raise premiums on all homeowners,” said Joseph Harrington, director of corporate communications for AAIS. “Insurers would prefer to have the choice to allow some homeowner insureds to get a break on their premium for damage that is purely cosmetic in nature.”

Harrington said even if a policy has the endorsement, the insured is still covered for any functional physical damage to these exterior components because the endorsement only applies if the damage is cosmetic.

The endorsement is optional to the 330 companies that use AAIS’ homeowners programs, and not all insurers will use it on all policies. Harrington said it’s possible some companies will apply the endorsement on a policy-by-policy basis with input from applicants and insureds, but AAIS expects companies will either use it or not use it on a general basis.

Some insurers may also decide to sell coverage with this endorsement automatically included in certain geographic territories, but that would be “clearly communicated to the consumer,” Harrington said.

The endorsement also enables the insurer to exclude one component – such as the roof – separately.

Some carriers have introduced their own proprietary endorsements to deal with these losses, but Harrington believes AAIS’ is the first that attempts to systematically address the exterior components.

“For homeowners insurers writing coverage, particularly in Midwestern states, their exposure can grow quite substantially based on a new way of seeing hail damage,” he said.

As part of its complete 100-page commercial property form revision, which was filed last year and will take effect April 1, ISO added a cosmetic roof limitation for commercial properties.

The ISO endorsement contains two options: the first allows insurance carriers to cover a building on a full replacement cost basis, but limit the valuation on “roof surfacing” to actual cash value (ACV). Option two applies to the cosmetic limitation, which is defined as any kind of marring or pitting or other superficial damage specifically from wind and hail that alters the appearance of the roof but does not prohibit it from functioning as intended as a barrier.

Stephen Clarke, assistant vice president of ISO’s Commercial Multi-Line Division, said the endorsement can be attached to an underlying form – whether it is builders’ risk, building property, standard property or various condo forms. He said an ISO endorsement to the homeowners insurance segment could come out this year.

Bill Wilson, education director for the Independent Insurance Association of America, said these endorsements do address a major issue for insurers trying to keep their costs down without raising premiums on insureds. But, he said, agents need to make sure they are paying close attention to what coverage their insureds are getting as a result.

“These are presented as an optional endorsement but it’s only an option from an insurance company standpoint,” says Wilson. “Agents have to be vigilant and make sure the policy doesn’t come back with an endorsement put on without their knowledge.”

Wilson said the definition of “cosmetic” could be troublesome for those insureds who get this endorsement.

Topics Carriers Property Homeowners