NYPIUA To Write Broader Coverage

NU Online News Service, March 27, 4:03 p.m. EDT

The New York State home insurer of last resort said it will expand offerings by offering coverage for a wide variety of additional perils it does not currently insure.

On April 1 the Property Insurance Underwriting Association (NYPIUA), New York's Fair Plan, said it will begin providing the new protection for New York residents with NYPIUA-backed policies.

According to the Professional Insurance Agents of New York (PIANY), the Broad Form coverage would include coverage options for damage by burglars; falling objects; weight of ice, snow or sleet; accidental discharge of water or steam; sudden tearing, cracking, burning or bulging; freezing; damage from artificially generated electrical current; and volcanic eruption.

Ellen Kiehl, senior research analyst at PIANY, said NYPIUA has traditionally offered an Insurance Services Office Dwelling 1 Basic Form, which she described as a "bare bones" policy. That policy offered coverage only against fire and lightning, windstorm and hail, explosions, and some other major perils.

NYPIUA will still offer the basic coverage, Ms. Kiehl noted, but insureds will now have the option to pay for the additional coverages on the Broad Form.

The authority to write the broader coverages came out of legislation passed last June that also made NYPIUA permanent, Ms. Kiehl said. NYPIUA then had to get the necessary approval from the state insurance department to write the coverages.

Before the legislation that made NYPIUA permanent, the program had to be re-authorized periodically by the legislature, resulting in some instances where coverage lapsed when the program was not renewed before its expiration date.