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Erica Noble v. Metropolitan Property & Casualty Insurance Company

Held January 12, 2010 – Docket No. INS-09-2151
Decision Issued: January 25, 2010

The insured requested a hearing regarding the nonrenewal of her homeowners policy because of a loss. Although the hearing request was outside of the 30 days after receipt of the notice as indicated by a postal certificate of mailing, the nonrenewal notice showed evidence of a substantive error in the mailing which delayed the receipt of the notice. Accordingly, the actual date of receipt was used to determine hearing eligibility.

Held: For the insured. The record demonstrates that the company has her correct mailing address and was using it for the concurrent automobile policy it provides, but had reversed the mailing and location addresses on the homeowners policy. As the notice of nonrenewal was not mailed to the correct address, the company failed to provide at least 30 days notice of the intended nonrenewal, as required by 24-A M.R.S.A. § 3051. The insured received the notice only two days before the expiration date due to the use of the wrong address.