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Sarah Otterson v. York Insurance Company of Maine

Held July 30, 2009 – Docket No. INS-09-2071
Decision Issued: August 12, 2009

The insured requested a hearing to contest nonrenewal of homeowners insurance for lack of central heat and extended period of unoccupancy. The company established that the home is heated primarily with a kerosene space heater with supplemental heat supplied by two woodstoves, and that the home is unoccupied during the winter.

Held: For the company. The company established that both the occupancy and the heating system of the dwelling have changed since the original inception of the policy, and explained how both changes increase the exposure to losses that are insured against by the policy. As the Maine Property Insurance Cancellation Control Act permits nonrenewal for a reason that is in good faith and related to the insurability of the property, the nonrenewal is allowed.