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Lynn Underwood v. Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company
Docket No. INS-05-2017, Decision Issued July 14, 2005.

The insured requested a hearing following receipt of a notice of homeowners insurance cancellation alleging various property conditions as changes in the property which result in the property becoming uninsurable as the reason for cancellation. At hearing, the company argued that a follow-up inspection had been conducted to determine the status of prior recommendations regarding conditions of the property. The company representative presented no evidence of the loss control recommendations. She testified that the agent had taken photographs of the property recently and had reported no change in the cited conditions. The insured testified that she has made substantial progress on one of the cited conditions, and to demonstrate attention to the other condition, she presented an estimate from a contractor with an expected completion date.

Held: For the insured. Although the cited reason for cancellation specifies that a physical change in the property has rendered it uninsurable, the company has failed to demonstrate that a change has occurred. The company’s evidence instead indicates that the cited conditions have existed for several years. It is also unknown when the policy first incepted or whether the conditions existed at that time. Therefore, no change in the property has been established. See 24-A M.R.S.A. § 3049(5).
The company’s testimony referenced past recommendations, but it offered no evidence of what recommendations were given to the insured or when they were conveyed. Therefore, the company is unable to rely upon 24-A M.R.S.A. § 3049(10) to cancel the policy, and no other cancellation reasons appear to apply.
In addition, the company also failed to demonstrate that the notice of cancellation was received by the insured 20 days prior to the cancellation date. See 24-A M.R.S.A. § 3050. The insured’s written hearing request is dated less than 20 full days before the cancellation effective date. Without submission of the certificate of mailing or other proof of the date of receipt, the company has not demonstrated that timely notice was provided to the insured.

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