An insurer’s continued acceptance of premium payments from an insured after denying that insured’s claim for noncompliance was not a waiver. The case is Sinjel, L.L.C. v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 20778 (5th Cir. 2024). Please note that this opinion is unpublished and therefore has limited precedential value.

What Happened

Sinjel, L.L.C. purchased a commercial property with hopes of renovating the building on the property. In order to protect their future investment, Sinjel procured insurance from Ohio Casualty Insurance Company. The policy included builder’s risk provisions as a safety measure against loss while the renovations were ongoing. The scope of the policy, however, “limited coverage to a vacant ‘existing building’ for 60 consecutive days from the inception date of this policy unless building permits have been obtained and rehabilitation or renovation work has begun on the 'existing building’” (emphasis added). According to the policy, an “existing building” meant “a building or structure that was constructed and standing prior to the inception of this policy and that [would]l undergo renovation or rehabilitation.”