Home Inspector’s Insurer Excluded Liability Coverage for Damage Caused by Flammables

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Insurance policy contracts that are clear, open, obvious and unambiguous exclusions are always enforced. In Tedra Birch, Joseph Monaco, Sr., and All State Home Inspection, LLC v. The Hanover Insurance Company, Docket No. A-2490-19, Superior Court Of New Jersey Appellate Division (March 19, 2021) the insurer disputed that the terms of insurance coverage in a policy provided to a home inspection company provided no coverage for an explosion and fire by a new propane tank a year after an inspection.

ZALMA OPINION

Exclusions exist to limit the exposure to risks of loss. If written, as in this case, in clear and unambiguous language, a court has no choice but to enforce the language of the exclusion. An explosion of a propane tank, clearly filled with flammable substances, is excluded by the unambiguous language of the policy.