Insured Must Reside at Dwelling for Homeowners Policy Coverage to Apply
Barry Zalma
Jun 6, 2023
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/.../second-attempt-same-argument... and see the full video at https://rumble.com/v2s87ye-second-attempt-at-same... and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4500 posts.
Posted on June 6, 2023 by Barry Zalma
DOING THE SAME THING TWICE AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT IS THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY
Plaintiff alleged that, on October 28, 2020, Hurricane Zeta caused significant damage to his property. Plaintiff alleged that Southern conducted an inspection which constituted “satisfactory proof of loss,” but that Southern failed to adjust the claim or provide compensation to Plaintiff following the inspection. Plaintiff alleged that he was forced to hire his own experts, and repair estimates. He was not paid and sued.
In Todd M. Korbel v. Republic Fire And Casualty Insurance Company And Southern Underwriters Insurance Company, No. 2:21-CV-2214, United States District Court, E.D. Louisiana (May 31, 2023) resolved the dispute.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff sued seeking damages. Southern generally denied the allegations and asserted a number of affirmative defenses including that Plaintiff did not “reside” at the Property, and that he is therefore not entitled to coverage under the Policy.
APPLICABLE LAW
Residence under the Policy
The plain, ordinary and generally prevailing meaning of the word “reside” requires more than purchasing a home or intending to move into it. Plaintiff argued that he received mail, including correspondence from Southern, at the Property, that he paid water and electric bills for the Property in his name, that he was at the Property every day performing work or checking on the Property, that he had stored some belongings at the Property, and that he had a homestead exemption on the Property.
As the Fifth Circuit has previously explained to Plaintiff himself in a previous lawsuit, this evidence is insufficient to create an issue of material fact as to whether Plaintiff resided in or at the Property. In an earlier case Plaintiff brought similar claims for damages and statutory bad faith penalties under Louisiana law after a house that he had purchased, but not moved into, was damaged during Hurricane Katrina. The insurer raised the same lack of coverage defense to Plaintiff’s claims for certain damages, arguing that Plaintiff did not reside at the property as was required under the insurance coverage contract.
Although Korbel clearly spent a great deal of time working on the house and intended it to be his residence in the future, this evidence was insufficient to establish residence. Given that Plaintiff kept only a minimal amount of furniture there and did not engage in leisure activities at the house, but rather went to the Property to work on or check on the house the facts establish he did not reside there.
In fact, Plaintiff admitted in his deposition that he did not move into the Property but was still living at another location at the time the Property was impacted by Hurricane Zeta. Accordingly, Plaintiff did not ‘reside’ at the Property, and is not entitled to coverage under the Policy.
ZALMA OPINION
Homeowners policies require that the insured reside at the premises that is the subject of the policy. Since the evidence established Korbel did not reside at the premises but only visited for purposes other than residence and it was in no condition to live in, he did not meet the requirement of residence as he did not in a previous case he brought to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He could have purchased a policy for a property in the course of construction but did not. Once he lost with the same argument it was unwise to make the same losing argument to the to the USDC that had failed on an appeal to the Fifth Circuit.
(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
Subscribe and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://zalmaoninsurance.locals.com/subscribe.
Consider subscribing to my publications at substack at https://barryzalma.substack.com/publish/post/107007808
Go to Newsbreak.com https://www.newsbreak.com/@c/1653419?s=01
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected], Follow me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/comm/mynetwork/discovery-see-all...
Write to Mr. Zalma at [email protected]; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; daily articles are published at https://zalma.substack.com.
Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/barry-zalma/support; Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; https://creators.newsbreak.com/home/content/post; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library.
Anti-Public Adjuster Clause Is Effective in New York
Post number 5301
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/public-adjusters-attempt-represent-insured-subject-zalma-esq-cfe-rubfc, see the video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Insurers May Contractually Prevent an Insured from Hiring a Public Adjuster
In Peter Barbato & North Jersey Public Adjusters Inc. v. Interstate Fire & Casualty Company, et al, No. 25-cv-5312 (JGK), United States District Court, S.D. New York (December 15, 2025) the plaintiffs, Peter Barbato and North Jersey Public Adjusters, Inc. (“NJPA”), filed suit against several insurance companies, including Interstate Fire & Casualty Company, Independent Specialty Insurance Company, and certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London.
FACTS
NJPA is a New Jersey-based public adjusting firm licensed in New York. The dispute centers on ...
Anti-Public Adjuster Clause Is Effective in New York
Post number 5301
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/public-adjusters-attempt-represent-insured-subject-zalma-esq-cfe-rubfc, see the video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Insurers May Contractually Prevent an Insured from Hiring a Public Adjuster
In Peter Barbato & North Jersey Public Adjusters Inc. v. Interstate Fire & Casualty Company, et al, No. 25-cv-5312 (JGK), United States District Court, S.D. New York (December 15, 2025) the plaintiffs, Peter Barbato and North Jersey Public Adjusters, Inc. (“NJPA”), filed suit against several insurance companies, including Interstate Fire & Casualty Company, Independent Specialty Insurance Company, and certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London.
FACTS
NJPA is a New Jersey-based public adjusting firm licensed in New York. The dispute centers on ...
Proof of Highly Contaminated Water is Required for Extra Payments
Post number 5300
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/acting-your-own-lawyer-foolish-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-mbg0c, see the video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Acting as Your Own Lawyer is Foolish
Evidence of Breach of Contract Survives Dismissal of All Other Charges
In Lee Lifeng Hsu and Jane Yuchen Hsu v. State Farm Fire And Casualty Company, C. A. No. N24C-09-020 CLS, Superior Court of Delaware (February 27, 2026) a claim to State Farm who paid approximately $61,000 after assessments but denied coverage for additional items including ceramic tiles, the kitchen floor ceiling, underlayment plywood, and numerous personal property items resulted in suit by the Hsu’s acting in pro per.
Facts
Lee Lifeng Hsu and Jane Yuchen Hsu (“Plaintiffs”) purchased a homeowners’ insurance policy from State Farm Fire...
Insurance Condition Requires Following the Intent of the Parties
Post number 5307
Principles of Contract Interpretation Compels Reading Contract as Written
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/portable-storage-containers-buildings-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-fkg1c and at https://zalma.com/blog.
In Eastside Floor Supplies, Ltd. v. SCS Agency, Inc., Hanover Insurance Company, et al., No. 2024-01501, Index No. 609883/19, 2026 NY Slip Op 01488, Supreme Court of New York, Second Department (March 18, 2026)
In May 2019, a fire damaged business personal property belonging to the plaintiffs, which was stored in portable storage containers at their Manhattan premises. At the time of the fire, the plaintiffs were insured under a businessowners insurance policy (BOP) issued by the defendant Hanover Insurance Company which provided general coverage for business personal property, and which included a specific extension for “Business Personal Property Temporarily in Portable Storage Units” (the portable storage ...
ERISA Saves Fraudulent Claims Suit
Post number 5306
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/failure-provide-well-pled-facts-defeats-most-action-zalma-esq-cfe-b4zuc and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Allegations of Fraudulent Insurance Billing Must be Pleaded with Specificity
In Genesis Laboratory Management LLC v. United Healthcare Services, Inc. and Oxford Health Plans, Inc., No. 21cv12057 (EP) (JSA), United States District Court, D. New Jersey (March 13, 2026) Genesis Laboratory Management LLC (“Genesis”), a New Jersey-based molecular diagnostic and anatomic pathology laboratory, provided COVID-19 related testing services and submitted claims for reimbursement as an out-of-network provider to United Healthcare Services, Inc. (“United”) and Oxford Health Insurance, Inc. (“Oxford”). Metropolitan Healthcare Billing, LLC (“Metropolitan”), owned by the same individual as Genesis, handled the billing for Genesis.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
United and Oxford, who administer both ERISA and ...
ERISA Saves Fraudulent Claims Suit
Post number 5306
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/failure-provide-well-pled-facts-defeats-most-action-zalma-esq-cfe-b4zuc and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Allegations of Fraudulent Insurance Billing Must be Pleaded with Specificity
In Genesis Laboratory Management LLC v. United Healthcare Services, Inc. and Oxford Health Plans, Inc., No. 21cv12057 (EP) (JSA), United States District Court, D. New Jersey (March 13, 2026) Genesis Laboratory Management LLC (“Genesis”), a New Jersey-based molecular diagnostic and anatomic pathology laboratory, provided COVID-19 related testing services and submitted claims for reimbursement as an out-of-network provider to United Healthcare Services, Inc. (“United”) and Oxford Health Insurance, Inc. (“Oxford”). Metropolitan Healthcare Billing, LLC (“Metropolitan”), owned by the same individual as Genesis, handled the billing for Genesis.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
United and Oxford, who administer both ERISA and ...
