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Karen Barbee & Randy Smith v. MMG Insurance Company
Docket No. INS-05-2083, Decision Issued December 20, 2005.

The insureds requested a hearing following receipt of a notice of homeowners insurance nonrenewal citing the number and nature of continuing related losses as the reason for nonrenewal. At hearing, the company confirmed that the stated losses occurred and argued that the preventative measures noted in the insured’s hearing request were not sufficient. The insureds attempted to submit their notarized hearing request in lieu of their in-person appearance at the hearing, but the statement did not arrive at the Bureau of Insurance at least one day prior to the date of the hearing as required by the Notice of Hearing. The hearing request was not admitted into the hearing record as testimonial evidence.

Held: For the insureds. Section 3051 requires that the reason for nonrenewal be explicit. The company’s argument focused on a lack of adequate ventilation in the roof but this was not given as a reason for nonrenewal in the company’s notice. In addition, the company did not explain how the lack of roof ventilation relates to the losses that occurred. Inadequate ventilation is a common culprit of ice dams, not the cited losses. The company has failed to demonstrate that its stated reason for nonrenewal is a good faith reason related to the insurability of the property as required for nonrenewal of this policy.

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