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Marilyn Staples v. Concord General Mutual Insurance Company
Docket No. INS-06-2037, Decision Issued April 21, 2006.

The insured requested a hearing following receipt of a notice of homeowners insurance cancellation citing the lack of owner occupancy as the reason for cancellation. At hearing, the company maintained that the insured had moved from the area and left her home vacant without proper custodial care. The company representative stated that the agent had inspected the home from a window several weeks after a loss and found the home empty with no furnishings. The insured explained that the furnishings had been removed to facilitate repairs. She also stated that she had considered selling her house but then changed her mind.

Held: For the insured. Under 24-A M.R.S.A. § 3049(6), a policy may be cancelled when the insured property is vacant and custodial care is not maintained. In the present case, the company has failed to demonstrate that the house is vacant. The company did not submit a sworn statement from the adjuster as to what she saw in the house, nor did it submit any photographic evidence to establish the status of the furnishings immediately after the loss. The insured’s assertion that the furnishings had been removed to facilitate repairs is a reasonable explanation for the lack of furnishings at the time. Lastly, although the insured indicated that at one time she held her residence for sale, she subsequently removed the house from the market and abandoned her plans to move to another area. As the company has failed to establish at least one of the required elements of § 3049(6), the cancellation action is denied.

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