Virginia Administrative Code
Title 14 - INSURANCE
Agency 5 - STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION, BUREAU OF INSURANCE
Chapter 342 - RULES GOVERNING STANDARDS FOR THE CONTENT OF HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE POLICIES
Section 14VAC5-342-50 - Causes of loss
Universal Citation: 4 VA Admin Code 5-342-50
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A.
1. Insurers shall provide open causes of loss
for the dwelling and other structures.
2. Insurers shall provide coverage for direct
loss to the dwelling and other structures on the residence premises subject to
the exclusions and limitations permitted in this chapter.
B.
1.
Insurers shall provide either open causes of loss or named causes of loss for
household and personal property.
2.
Insurers shall provide coverage for direct loss to household and personal
property subject to the exclusions and limitations permitted in this
chapter.
C. When named causes of loss for household and personal are provided, insurers shall provide coverage for direct loss caused by the following:
1. Fire or lightning.
2. Windstorm or hail.
a. Insurers may exclude loss to the interior
of the dwelling or other structure or the household and personal property
within caused by rain, snow, sand, or dust unless the rain, snow, sand, or dust
enters through an opening caused by the force of wind or hail; and
b. Insurers may exclude loss to watercraft
while not inside a fully enclosed building. This exclusion does not apply to
rowboats or canoes.
3.
Explosion.
4. Riot or civil
commotion.
5. Aircraft.
6. Vehicles.
7. Sudden and accidental damage from soot or
smoke, other than smoke from agricultural smudging or industrial
operations.
8. Vandalism or
malicious mischief.
9. Falling
objects. Insurers may exclude loss to:
a.
Property within a dwelling or other structure caused by a falling object unless
the falling object first damages the exterior of the roof or walls of the
dwelling or other structure; or
b.
The falling object itself.
10. Weight of ice, snow, or sleet that
damages household and personal property contained in a dwelling or other
structure if the weight of ice, snow, or sleet first damages the dwelling or
other structure.
11. Sudden and
accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a steam or hot water
heating system, or of an appliance for heating water, but excluding loss caused
by or resulting from freezing.
12.
Freezing of plumbing, heating, or air conditioning systems, and domestic
appliances.
13. Accidental
discharge, leakage, or overflow of water or steam from within a plumbing,
heating, or air conditioning system, or domestic appliance.
14. Sudden and accidental injury from
electrical currents artificially generated to electrical appliances, devices,
fixtures, and wiring.
15. Theft of
household and personal property, except insurers may exclude coverage for loss
by theft:
a. If committed by an
insured;
b. In or to a dwelling or
other structure under construction, or of materials and supplies for use in the
construction, unless the dwelling is occupied;
c. If committed by (i) roomers, (ii)
boarders, or (iii) tenants, employees of the tenants, or members of the
tenants' household;
d. Of money,
bullion, silver, gold, platinum, coin collections, medals, bank notes, letters
of credit, notes other than bank notes, passports, tickets, stamp collections,
jewelry, silverware, goldware, pewterware, silver-plated ware, gold-plated
ware, or furs while the part of the residence premises customarily occupied
exclusively by an insured is rented to others;
e. Of household and personal property in a
location other than the residence premises that is owned, rented, or occupied
by an insured, except (i) while an insured is temporarily residing at that
location and (ii) property of a student who is an insured if the student has
been at that location at any time during the 45 days immediately before a loss;
or
f. From the unauthorized use of
a credit card or debit card; or loss by forgery or alterations of a written
promise, order, or direction to pay a sum certain in money.
16. Breakage of glass that is a
part of the dwelling or other structure if it results in damage to household
and personal property. Insurers may exclude this coverage if the dwelling was
vacant.
Statutory Authority: §§ 12.1-13, 38.2-223, and 38.2-2108 of the Code of Virginia.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Virginia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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