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 14VAC5-342-60 - Exclusions applicable to property coverages
Universal Citation: 4 VA Admin Code 5-342-60
Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. For policies providing open causes of loss, insurers may exclude direct loss to the dwelling, other structures, or household and personal property caused by any of the following:
1. Wear and tear; marring or scratching;
deterioration; inherent vice; latent defect; mechanical breakdown; rust; mold;
wet or dry rot; pollutants; smog; smoke from agricultural smudging or
industrial operations; settling, cracking, shrinkage, bulging, or expansion of
pavements, patios, foundations, walls, floors, roofs, or ceilings; or birds,
vermin, rodents, insects, or animals owned or kept by an insured. If a covered
cause of loss ensues, insurers shall provide coverage for the ensuing
loss.
2. Theft in or to a dwelling
under construction, or of materials or supplies for use in the construction,
until construction is completed and the residence premises is
occupied.
3. Vandalism and
malicious mischief or glass breakage if the dwelling on the insured premises
was vacant. If a covered cause of loss ensues, insurers shall provide coverage
for the ensuing loss.
4. Collapse,
except as required by subsection N of 14VAC5-342-40.
B. For policies providing open causes of loss, insurers may exclude direct loss to household and personal property caused by any of the following:
1. Breakage of
eyeglasses, glassware, statuary, marbles, bric-a-brac, porcelains, and similar
fragile articles, except jewelry, watches, bronzes, cameras, and photographic
lenses. This exclusion shall not apply to loss caused by or resulting from the
causes of loss in subsection C of 14VAC5-342-50, earthquake, and water not
otherwise excluded.
2. Dampness of
atmosphere or extremes of temperature unless the loss is directly caused by
rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
3.
Refinishing, renovating, or repairing property other than watches, jewelry, and
furs.
4. 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.
5. Destruction or seizure by order of any
government or public authority.
6.
Collision, sinking, swamping, or stranding of watercraft, trailers used with
watercraft, and watercraft furnishings, equipment, and motors. This exclusion
does not apply to collision involving a motor vehicle.
C. For all causes of loss, insurers may:
1. Regardless of any other cause of loss or
event contributing concurrently or in any sequence, exclude loss caused
directly or indirectly by any of the following:
a. Water, as follows:
(1) Flood, ground surface water, waves,
seiche, tidal water or tidal waves, overflow of a body of water, or spray from
any of these, whether natural or manmade;
(2) Water that backs up through sewers or
drains;
(3) Water that overflows or
is discharged from a sump pump or other type of system designed to remove
subsurface water that is drained from the foundation area;
(4) Water below the surface of the ground
including water that exerts pressure on or flows, seeps, or leaks through (i)
sidewalks; (ii) driveways; (iii) foundations; (iv) swimming pools; (v) walls;
(vi) basements or floors; or (vii) doors, windows, or other openings;
(5) Material carried or moved by water
referred to in subdivisions 1 a (1), 1 a (2), and 1 a (3) of this subsection;
or
(6) The exclusions for water
loss in subdivisions 1 a (1) through 1 a (5) of this subsection do not apply
to:
(a) A loss by theft; or
(b) An ensuing loss caused by fire or
explosion.
b.
Earth movement, natural or manmade, including earthquake, volcanic eruption,
landslide, mudflow, or other earth movement caused by sinking, rising,
shifting, or expansion. Insurers shall provide coverage for:
(1) A loss by theft; or
(2) An ensuing loss caused by fire,
explosion, or breakage of glass that is a part of the dwelling or other
structure.
c. Enforcement
of ordinances or laws regulating the construction, repair, or demolition of
dwellings or other structures. Insurers shall provide coverage when an
ordinance or law requires the use of safety glass in replacement of damaged
glass that is a part of the dwelling or other structure.
d. Interruption of power or other utility
service furnished to the insured premises if the interruption takes place away
from the insured premises. Insurers shall provide coverage for the ensuing loss
if a covered cause of loss ensues on the insured premises because of the power
interruption.
e. Enemy attack by
armed forces including action taken by military, naval, or air forces in
resisting an actual or immediately impending enemy attack, invasion,
insurrection, rebellion, revolution, civil war, usurped power, or action taken
by governmental authority in hindering, combating, or defending against the
event; order of civil authority except acts of destruction at the time of and
for preventing the spread of fire, provided that the fire did not originate
from an excluded cause of loss.
f.
Nuclear reaction, nuclear radiation, or radioactive contamination as set forth
in § 38.2-2102 A of the Code of Virginia.
g. The exclusions in subdivisions 1 a through
1 f of this subsection apply even if one or more of the following concurrently
contribute to the loss:
(1) Weather
conditions;
(2) Acts or decisions,
or the failure to act or decide, of a person, group, organization, or
governmental body; or
(3) Faulty,
inadequate, or defective:
(a) Planning,
zoning, development, surveying, or siting;
(b) Design, specifications, workmanship,
repair, construction, renovation, remodeling, grading, or compaction;
(c) Materials used in repair, construction,
renovation, or remodeling; or
(d)
Maintenance.
2. Exclude direct loss caused by:
a. Freezing of or by discharge, leakage, or
overflow from plumbing, heating, or air conditioning systems or domestic
appliances. This exclusion applies only to a dwelling that is vacant, under
construction, or unoccupied for four or more consecutive days, and the insured
has failed to (i) exercise due diligence to maintain heat in the dwelling or
other structures, or (ii) drain the systems and appliances and shut off the
water supply.
b. Continuous or
repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam from within a plumbing, heating,
or air conditioning system or domestic appliance over a period of weeks,
months, or years. This exclusion does not apply to household and personal
property.
c. Freezing, thawing, or
by the pressure or weight of ice or water to fences, pavements, patios,
swimming pools, foundations, retaining walls, bulkheads, piers, wharves, or
docks.
d. Windstorm or hail to the
following property (i) overhead structures, including supports and screening,
constructed principally of cloth, metal, fiberglass, or plastic and erected to
provide protection from the elements; (ii) fences; (iii) seawalls; (iv)
property line or other free-standing walls; (v) greenhouses, hothouses,
slathouses, trellises, pergolas, or cabanas; (vi) wharves, docks, piers,
boathouses, bulkheads, or other similar structures located over or partially
over water and the property on or within these structures; or (vii) outdoor
equipment pertaining to the service of the residence premises.
e. Neglect of the insured to use all
reasonable means to protect the property during and after a loss.
f. An intentional act by a person insured
under the policy that was directed or committed by that person, but only with
respect to that person.
D. Insurers may exclude coverage for the following types of property:
1. Accounts,
bills, or currency including virtual or digital, deeds, evidences of debt,
money, scrip, stored value cards, smart cards, securities, bullion,
manuscripts, letters of credit, bank notes, or notes other than bank
notes;
2. Aircraft and parts except
insurers shall provide coverage for (i) drones without cameras and drones that
are not capable of carrying people or cargo and (ii) hobby aircraft or model
aircraft that is not capable of carrying people or cargo;
3. Animals, birds, or fish;
4. Business property, except household and
personal property is not business property unless the property is in that part
of the residence premises rented and occupied for home-sharing;
5. Electronic equipment that is permanently
installed in a motor vehicle;
6.
Tapes, wires, records, discs, or other media used with electronic equipment in
a motor vehicle while the property is in or on a motor vehicle;
7. Motor vehicles, motorized bicycles, and
hovercraft; except (i) vehicles used to service the residence premises, (ii)
utility trailers that are not licensed for road use, and (iii) electric
mobility devices designed to assist an individual that has a
disability;
8. Property of (i)
tenants; (ii) roomers and boarders not related to the insured; and (iii)
home-sharing occupants during the period of their home-sharing
rental;
9. Property rented to
others except as provided in subdivision C 3 of 14VAC5-342-40;
10. Property that is unlawful to own or
possess under state or federal law; or
11. Property that is separately described and
specifically insured by this insurance or other insurance.
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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