5 Changes to Homeowner's Insurance Forms in 2022

It's been over a decade since the Insurance Services Office (ISO) made a

major multi-state filing to homeowner's insurance forms. But, in March

2022, there will be a lot of changes to keep up with. This includes:

• Adding 13 new forms and endorsements;

• 120 revisions to forms and endorsements; and

• Ditching 11 forms and endorsements

Discussing most of these changes would put you to sleep. So, I've picked

some of my favorites to share.

1. Motorized Scooter and Bicycle Liability --HO 24 13

You can't walk down a sidewalk in any major city without tripping over a

pile of Birds, Limes, Razors, Jolts, etc. These motorized movers can be

a lot of fun and very convenient. However, as it currently stands, most

policyholders do not have coverage for liability attributed to them

(allegedly, of course!). This filing provides coverage for these

vehicles, subject to certain requirements. The vehicles can be owned or

non-owned. But---be careful---there are also new exclusions that, if

contained within your policy, take this coverage away from you.

1. Limited Cannabis Property Coverage --HO 06 01

You may have noticed something in the air in Florida in the past year or

so. No, not the humidity---the smell of marijuana. With so many states

legalizing recreational and medicinal use of cannabis or marijuana the

ISO decided to write an endorsement that allows a policyholder to

purchase coverage for liability and property damage. This means that if

fire, lightning, explosion, vandalism, or theft affects your stash, you

may have coverage! Before you get cheeky, lighting your cannabis on fire

to ingest would fall under the intentional activity exclusion found in

virtually all HO 3 policies.

1. New Options for Renters --HO 14

This is the new comprehensive contents form that does some really great

things for renters. First, it automatically provides replacement cost

coverage. This means you will receive the money it takes to replace your

items versus that value minus the insurer's determination of

depreciation. Second, you will be covered from all perils as opposed to

the specific named perils in the traditional HO-4 renter's policy. These

are both great features. However, renters should speak to their agent

about the possible drawbacks. For example, while the HO 14 eliminates

some of the seemingly arbitrary limits on contents, it also limits the

total amount recoverable to 10% of Coverage C for certain items

including cash, business property, and theft of valuables.

1. New Coverage C Special Limits and Sub Limits

Similarly, the old schedule of limits on personal property or contents

has been changed to add more coverage. And it's about time. Many

insurance companies happily pay the limit, or max, under the policy only

to find their policyholders severely underwhelmed. These items include

cash, boats, trailers, theft of jewelry and firearms, business property,

and electronics inside of a motor vehicle. None of these changes are

greater than a \$1,000 increase, but every little bit helps.

1. Cryptocurrency = No Coverage

Unsurprisingly, the insurance industry saw something new and decided to

steer clear of it. If you experience a loss and the loss affects your

crypto wallet then unfortunately, you'll have to look elsewhere to

recover. This makes sense---for the time being. But insurers and

InsurTechs now have an opportunity to craft new products to meet this

rapidly expanding marketplace and protect their customers.