.0 Miscellaneous Personal Lines Coverage
Learning Objectives
.1 Personal Inland Marine Insurance
Personal Inland Marine insurance is designed to cover movable personal property against direct physical loss. This type of coverage is important because certain personal property may be especially vulnerable to loss while it is being transported, used away from the home, or kept in different locations. Standard personal lines property policies, such as Homeowners policies, may not fully cover these items. In some cases, coverage may be excluded, limited to specific causes of loss, or restricted by special dollar limits under Coverage C. Personal Inland Marine insurance helps fill these coverage gaps by providing more specialized protection for valuable or portable property.
.2 Mobile Home Insurance
Mobile homes can present unique insurance challenges because they are exposed to risks that differ from those of traditional site-built homes. For example, mobile homes may have different structural characteristics and may be more vulnerable to certain types of physical damage. They may also be exposed to loss while being transported from one location to another.
.3 Earthquake Insurance
Earthquakes are excluded perils under most property insurance policies. This means that standard property policies, including many Homeowners policies, generally do not cover direct loss caused by earth movement or earthquake damage unless coverage is specifically added.
.4 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is a federal program that makes flood insurance available to eligible property owners, renters, and businesses. The program is administered by the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA), which operates under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Through the NFIP, the federal government helps support the availability of flood insurance and pays covered flood claims according to the terms and limits of the policy. This program is important because standard property insurance policies typically exclude flood damage.
.5 Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan
Some property owners may be unable to obtain property insurance through the standard insurance market because their property presents a higher-than-usual risk of loss. For example, a property located in an area with a significant wildfire exposure may be considered too high-risk for many standard insurers.
.6 Difference in Conditions (DIC) Policy
Difference in Conditions (DIC) insurance is a specialized type of property insurance designed to help fill coverage gaps left by other property policies. Many standard property insurance policies exclude or restrict coverage for certain catastrophic perils, such as earthquake, flood, collapse, or subsidence.
.7 Watercraft Insurance
Homeowners policies provide only limited coverage for watercraft. Although some coverage may be added or broadened by endorsement, the protection available under a Homeowners policy is often restricted by policy limits, exclusions, and eligibility requirements.
.8 Personal Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance
The primary purpose of purchasing any form of excess liability coverage is to add another layer of insurance protection above the limits provided by an existing casualty insurance policy. This coverage is especially important when a liability claim is severe enough to exceed the limits of the insured’s underlying policies, such as a Homeowners, Personal Auto, or other primary liability policy.
Recap of Chapter Eight
Personal Inland Marine