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Craig Lithgow v. Phenix Mutual Fire Insurance Company

Held March 7, 2008 - Docket No. INS-08-2005
Decision Issued: March 21, 2008

The insured requested a hearing regarding the nonrenewal of his homeowners policy for failure to comply with loss control recommendations. The company argued that the insured had been given more than sufficient time to address the concerns it had expressed and has not corrected those issues.

Held: For the insured. While the insurer did inform the insured of its concerns, the “recommendations” given by the company only identified the concerns and told the insured to “address” and “correct” them, without providing any specific recommendations. When ambiguous or vague recommendations are made, leaving room for varying interpretations, a policyholder cannot be faulted for failing to take the action the company had in mind but did not express.