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Roy & Lorri Benson v. New England Guaranty Insurance Company
Docket No. INS-07-2071, Decision Issued September 11, 2007.

The insureds requested a hearing following receipt of a notice of homeowners insurance policy nonrenewal citing the failure to comply with specific loss control recommendations as the reason for nonrenewal. At hearing, the company discussed the loss control recommendations. The insureds discussed their responses to the recommendations.

Held: For the company. The Maine Property Insurance Cancellation Control Act permits policy nonrenewal if the insured fails to comply with reasonable loss control recommendations within 90 days after notice from the insurer. 24-A M.R.S.A. §§ 3049(10), 3051.

The company demonstrated that it issued recommendations to the insureds almost a year prior to the commencement of this action. The insureds confirmed receipt of the recommendations. The company offered no explanation for the requirement to perform certain of the recommendations beyond stating that the present conditions will lead to losses. Such an explanation is insufficient to demonstrate that the recommendations are reasonable.

The company related other recommendations to specific hazards insured under the policy. The insureds argued that those recommendations were not reasonable from a timing perspective. However, they offered no evidence that they have made any substantial progress since the company issued the recommendations 11 months ago. Based upon the evidence presented at the hearing, the Superintendent of Insurance concludes that the company has established adequate grounds for policy nonrenewal based upon the insured’s failure to comply with two reasonable loss control recommendations.