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Lynn Miller Saucier v. MMG Insurance Company

Held November 23, 2010 - Docket No. INS-10-2106
Decision Issued: December 20, 2010

The named insured requested a hearing to contest the nonrenewal of homeowners insurance for cited conditions of the property. The notice of nonrenewal identified two conditions of the property, and one of those was withdrawn by the company at the hearing. The other reason was determined not to meet the specificity requirement in statute.

Held: For the insured. The Maine Property Insurance Cancellation Control Act allows nonrenewal of homeowners insurance if the reason is in good faith and related to the insurability of the property, but requires the stated reason to be explicit so as to clearly inform the policyholder of why the policy is not being renewed. The company cited missing and damaged shingles. As the insured property has siding shingles in addition to roof shingles on both the dwelling and outbuilding, it was not clear which shingles were the problem. The insured interpreted it to mean siding, as there were no missing shingles on either roof, but some siding had been removed during a renovation. At hearing, the company clarified that its concern was with the roof of the outbuilding. Because the stated reason was not sufficiently explicit, the nonrenewal action is not permitted.