Ask Tim

​It's been awhile since I added to my list of examples of subtle but possibly significant differences between insurance policies of the same type issued by different insurers. This one does not involve a loss (that I know of,) but I thought it was interesting enough to cite as another example of why it's important to have copies of coverage forms on hand to review.A member wrote in the other day about a client who owns a piece of vacant land with her daughter. They're going to have a house built on the land, and the daughter will live there. The member had questions about…

​Question from a BINY member: “We had an insured who called yesterday to add her boyfriend/domestic partner to her homeowners policy as a named insured. My first reaction was that cannot be done as the boyfriend has no financial interest in the home which I explained. They pushed the issue and kept telling me it could be done (per another agent). I called our company underwriter who advised – you can add a domestic partner as a named insured to a homeowners policy. How is this okay if the second named insured has zero financial interest in the home and is not on the deed?…

​It's October, which means Hallow​een, which means people who enjoy being terrified are flocking to haunted houses and similar attractions. Have you ever thought of trying to write the insurance on one of these places? What coverages do they need? What are their loss exposures? In this chilling video, I discuss these topics in a way that is not at all melodramatic. [embedded content]  ​​​​Source