NO COVERAGE FOR INSURED WHO DOES NOT RESIDE IN DWELLING
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gfgm7FYK and see the full video at https://lnkd.in/guchfJrX and at https://lnkd.in/gKBWET6v and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 4500 posts .
The plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their suit against Farmers Automobile Insurance Association (Farmers). The plaintiffs were insured by Farmers for a St. Joseph residence that the plaintiff Judy had inherited from her deceased brother. The plaintiffs filed a claim with the company following a fire that destroyed the residence. Farmers denied the claim as the plaintiffs were not occupying the property at the time of the fire and were therefore not covered under the terms of the policy.
In Judy Dardar and Ivan Dardar v. Farmers Automobile Insurance Association and Jason Sticklen, Farmers Automobile Insurance Association, No. 5-22-0357, 2023 IL App (5th) 220357-U, Court of Appeals of Illinois, Fifth District (June 2, 2023) the claim of the Dardar’s was resolved.
BACKGROUND
Before he died David Jones, Judy’s brother, purchased an insurance policy from Farmers through Sticklen for property and liability insurance coverage for his residence in Champaign County. After David’s death Judy was appointed the legal independent representative of his estate.
Farmers issued a homeowner’s policy amending declarations, which added the decedent’s estate and Judy as additional insureds as well as a non-occupancy permit endorsement.
Once the estate was closed, and the house was transferred to Judy, she began making renovations to the residence. The plaintiffs were undecided as to whether they were going to live in the house after the renovations were complete or sell it. Then, on July 4, 2018, firework embers from an unidentified source caught the house on fire, and it was destroyed.
The plaintiffs never lived in or occupied the home. Judy had no knowledge that the policy was issued without the non-occupancy permit endorsement.
Farmers denied the claim on the basis that the policy covered their “residence premises,” which was defined as:
1 the one-family dwelling where you reside;
2 the two, three, or four-family dwelling where you reside in at least one of the units; or
3 that part of any other building in which you reside.
Farmers determined that the plaintiffs did not reside at the St. Joseph property and therefore were not covered under the policy terms. Judy claimed Sticklen failed to properly inform Farmers of her condition, and Farmers issued a new policy without the non-occupancy permit endorsement.
The court found that, based on the facts alleged, there was not a sufficient basis
for a breach of contract claim against Farmers and granted Farmers’ motion to dismiss. Based on the relevant facts, the plaintiffs could never plead that they ever resided on the St. Joseph property.
ANALYSIS
The issue on appeal was whether the trial court erred in granting Farmers’ motion to dismiss the breach of contract count.
A court must construe a policy of insurance as a whole and take into account the type of insurance purchased, the nature of the risks involved, and the overall purpose of the contract.
“Reside” is not ambiguous as it is used in the policy contract language between Farmers and the plaintiffs. The record established that the plaintiffs never lived on the property, were not occupying it in any way, and had not decided whether they would move into the home once the renovations were done. The mere fact that because “reside” has more than one definition does not make it ambiguous when, as here, there is no definition of the word that would apply to the plaintiffs. The Court of Appeal, like the trial court, concluded that the term “reside” as used in Farmers’ policy s not ambiguous.
ZALMA OPINION
There is nothing secret or difficult to understand about a policy definition that provides “one-family dwelling where you reside.” Since the insured did not reside in the dwelling and never resided in the premises, the unambiguous requirement of coverage was not met. They could easily have acquired a fire insurance policy that insured the plaintiffs, as a non resident, against the risk of loss of the house by fire. Instead they acquired a homeowners policy that required that they reside in the house. They did not and they recovered nothing.
(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.
Subscribe and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://lnkd.in/gfFKUaTf.
Consider subscribing to my publications at substack at https://lnkd.in/gcZKhG6g
Go to Newsbreak.com https://lnkd.in/g8azKc34
Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected]
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/guWk7gfM
Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://lnkd.in/gV9QJYH; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://lnkd.in/g2hGv88; https://lnkd.in/gYqJ_JcC to the Insurance Claims Library – https://lnkd.in/gWVSBde.
Intentionally Shooting a Woman With A Rifle is Murder
Post 5196
See the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog and more than 5150 posts.
You Plead Guilty You Must Accept the Sentence
In Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania v. Mark D. Redfield, No. 20 WDA 2025, No. J-S24010-25, Superior Court of Pennsylvania (September 19, 2025) the appellate court reviewed the case of Mark D. Redfield, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for killing April Dunkle with malice using a rifle.
Affirmation of Sentence:
The sentencing court’s judgment was affirmed, and jurisdiction was relinquished, concluding no abuse of discretion occurred.
Reasonable Inference on Trigger Pulling:
The sentencing court reasonably inferred from the guilty plea facts that the appellant pulled the trigger causing the victim’s death, an inference supported by the record and consistent with the plea.
Guilty Plea Facts:
The appellant admitted during the plea hearing...
The Judicial Proceedings Privilege
Post 5196
Posted on September 25, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at and at
Judicial Proceeding Privilege Limits Litigation
In David Camp, and Laura Beth Waller v. Professional Employee Services, d/b/a Insurance Branch, and Brendan Cassity, CIVIL No. 24-3568 (RJL), United States District Court, District of Columbia (September 22, 2025) a defamation lawsuit filed by David Camp and Laura Beth Waller against Insurance Branch and Brendon Cassity alleging libel based on statements made in a letter accusing them of mishandling funds and demanding refunds and investigations.
The court examined whether the judicial proceedings privilege applieD to bar the defamation claims.
Case background:
Plaintiffs Camp and Waller, executives of NOSSCR and its Foundation, sued defendants Insurance Branch and Cassity over a letter alleging financial misconduct and demanding refunds and audits. The letter ...
Misrepresentation or Concealment of a Material Fact Supports Rescission
Post 5195
Don’t Lie to Your Insurance Company
See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v6zefq8-untrue-application-for-insurance-voids-policy.html and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5150 posts.
In Imani Page v. Progressive Marathon Insurance Company, No. 370765, Court of Appeals of Michigan (September 22, 2025) because defendant successfully established fraud in the procurement, and requested rescission, the Court of Appeals concluded that the Defendant was entitled to rescind the policy and declare it void ab initio.
FACTS
Plaintiff's Application:
Plaintiff applied for an insurance policy with the defendant, indicating that the primary use of her SUV would be for "Pleasure/Personal" purposes.
Misrepresentation:
Plaintiff misrepresented that she would not use the SUV for food delivery, but records show she was compensated for delivering food.
Accident:
Plaintiff's SUV was involved in an accident on August ...
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
Post 5185
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gePN7rjm and at https://lnkd.in/gzPwr-9q
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers.
The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
See the full video at and at
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
How Elderly Doctors Fund their ...
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
Post 5185
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gePN7rjm and at https://lnkd.in/gzPwr-9q
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers.
The Dishonest Chiropractor/Physician
How a Need for Profit Led Health Care Providers to Crime
See the full video at and at
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers. The story is designed to help to Understand How Insurance Fraud in America is Costing Everyone who Buys Insurance Thousands of Dollars Every year and Why Insurance Fraud is Safer and More Profitable for the Perpetrators than any Other Crime.
How Elderly Doctors Fund their ...
Barry Zalma: Insurance Claims Expert Witness
Posted on September 3, 2025 by Barry Zalma
The Need for a Claims Handling Expert to Defend or Prove a Tort of Bad Faith Suit
© 2025 Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE
When I finished my three year enlistment in the US Army as a Special Agent of US Army Intelligence in 1967, I sought employment where I could use the investigative skills I learned in the Army. After some searching I was hired as a claims trainee by the Fireman’s Fund American Insurance Company. For five years, while attending law school at night while working full time as an insurance adjuster I became familiar with every aspect of the commercial insurance industry.
On January 2, 1972 I was admitted to the California Bar. I practiced law, specializing in insurance claims, insurance coverage and defense of claims against people insured and defense of insurance companies sued for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. After 45 years as an active lawyer, I asked that my license to practice law be declared inactive ...
