We have a client who had damage from the hurricane. He had an outbuilding that was 10′ from the main house. There is no foundation on that outbuilding. There is an electrical panel box with major conduit lines running underground from the outbuilding to the main attached garage of the home. It is solidly attached from the 3″ conduit from one electrical panel to the main electrical panel to the garage and home. All of the wirings run underground up through the concrete and are attached to both buildings. The outbuilding got damaged. We want to include this outbuilding on the structure and not other structures because it's attached to the house by the underground wiring. What are your thoughts?

Michigan Subscriber

The outbuilding is an other structure by definition. The fact that it is connected by wires doesn't matter, as it is separated from the dwelling by a clear space. The HO 00 03 states the following: We cover other structures on the "residence premises" set apart from the dwelling by clear space. This includes structures connected to the dwelling by only a fence, utility line, or similar connection. Wiring alone isn't enough to have something considered to be attached to the structure – it has to be structurally attached.