Vandalism & Is it covered?

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Vandalism..Is it covered?
The term vandalism can be traced to ancient Rome,
where in 455 A.D., the Vandals, a Germanic
tribe at war with the Romans, destroyed many of
the citys monuments and works of art. Since
that time, the word vandalism has come to
mean any destruction of real or personal property.
Suppose a willful and wanton act of damage occurs
to your home or business. Is it a covered loss?
Does your insurance company pay for such a loss?
The answer is, mostly yes. In addition to the
provisions of the controlling policy, vandalism
or malicious mischief coverage is subject to a
variety of special conditions, depending on the
type of policy to which the insurance is
attached. These provisions must be carefully
inspected in light of the particular coverage
form or endorsement under consideration. For
example, under the commercial property forms,
vandalism coverage does not extend to loss or
damage to glass (other than glass building
blocks) that is part of a building, structure, or
an outside sign. It also does not
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apply to loss or damage caused by or resulting
from theft, except for building damage caused by
burglars breaking in or exiting. Another standard
provision is that, if the building becomes
vacant for a certain length of time, coverage for
vandalism is excluded. Some insurance property
forms that are part of a policy make an exception
to the exclusion of damage caused by or
resulting from theft in relation to the
vandalism coverage. The insurer will pay for
building damage caused by the breaking in or
exiting of burglars. This provision attempts to
settle the argument by at least clearly allowing
recovery for building damage certain to accompany
a burglary. Burglary means the act of breaking
into a building. This modification may have
improved the situation for the owner of premises
rented to others who would not ordinarily be
carrying burglary or theft insurance but, it did
not address the basic question, at least, for
those who take the position that the exclusion
must be interpreted as applying only to so much
of the loss as is directly due to pilferage,
theft, burglary, or larceny. However, the
question remains as to whether or not the
specific coverage of damage by burglars to a
building automatically rule out malicious damage
to contents by burglars? Current commercial
property forms do not address the contents
question and it is reasonable to exclude such
damage at first blush. However, the parties
concerned must still sort out the loss. Was this
item damaged by vandalism or was the damage
caused by the theft? Can the loss be apportioned
to a specific cause and paid accordingly? Other
questions, those involving vacancies also need
to be answered. In most current property forms.
the vacancy clause states that if the building
where loss or damage occurs has been vacant for
more than sixty consecutive days before the
loss, the insurer will not pay for any loss or
damage caused by vandalism. The clause then
defines a vacant building as one that does not
contain enough business personal property to
conduct customary operations. Thus, the
definition of vacancy (as provided in the form)
has been expanded to limit coverage for
buildings that are not completely devoid of
either contents or occupants. Buildings under
construction or renovation are specifically
exempt from the vacancy provision such
buildings are not considered vacant. Fire
damage caused by vandals is usually covered under
the standard fire cause of loss, just as
explosion damage caused by vandals is protected
as part of the explosion cause of loss
vandalism or malicious mischief insurance need
not be involved. This may vary, however. in many
current homeowners policies. We just need to
examine the fine print of the policy to be sure.
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If you have had your building destroyed and
looted, which many people believe will occur in
the future, we recommend the immediate filing of
an insurance claim with an insurance claim
adjuster. As you can see, however, there will be
many questions as to your coverage. Brown
OHaver can help. We have been involved in many
such claims over the years and stand ready to
assist insureds at any time.