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Luther & Priscilla Hilton v. Allstate Insurance Company

Held April 5, 2011 – Docket No. INS-11-2018
Decision Issued:  May 3, 2013

The named insured requested a hearing to contest the nonrenewal of homeowners insurance due to a Town Class 10 fire department ranking, citing fire department service is poor or unavailable.  The company demonstrated that ISO evaluated the town and assessed a split 9/10 rating. The insured property is located more than five miles from the responding fire station, so the class 10 rating applies.

Held: For the company. 24-A M.R.S.A. § 3051 allows nonrenewal of a homeowners policy if the reason is in good faith and related to the insurability of the property. At one time the insured property was within five miles of a fire station, but that station was closed. As the distance from the fire station affects the response time, a greater distance reduces the effectiveness of the fire suppression effort, and thus meets the standard for nonrenewal under the Maine Property Insurance Cancellation Control Act.