I recently represented the owner of a commercial property in a hail damage claim in which the metal roof was clearly dented by hail.  Remarkably, the insurance company denied the claim on the basis that the roof was still functional.  In the process of working with the opposing lawyer to obtain payment, I ran across a FC&S Bulletin that was dead on point:

Direct Physical Loss and Cosmetic Loss

Hail stones have created dents to a copper roof. The section of roofing is located over a second story bay window. It does not appear that the hail has compromised the life span of the roof’s surface or otherwise affected or decreased its useful lifespan.

Our HO policy provides coverage for direct physical loss. If the roof’s integrity was not compromised by the hail stone impact, has a physical loss occurred?

We believe that some carriers view this type of damage as cosmetic and do not provide coverage for replacement of the copper roof. Does FC & S have an opinion?  

ANSWER

Whether or not the dents are cosmetic or affect the roof structure, they are still direct physical loss. The policy doesn’t define damage so standard practice is to go to a desk reference. Merriam Webster Online defines damage as loss or harm resulting from injury to property, person, or reputation. The roof now has dents where it didn’t before; that’s direct damage. The policy doesn’t exclude cosmetic damage, so direct damage, even if it is cosmetic, is covered. It’s the same as if vandals had painted the side of the house purple. While cosmetic, it’s damage, and is covered. The principle of indemnity is to restore the insured to what they had before the loss, and this insured had a roof with no dents.

This one was fairly obvious to me – – my client had a roof without hail dents before the storm and a roof with hail dents after the storm.  But the insurance company denied the claim anyway.  I shared this article with the opposing lawyer, and the case was resolved shortly thereafter.  I encourage all adjusters, as well as lawyers practicing insurance law, to subscribe to the FC&S Bulletins.  Their industry reference materials are often a great supplement to case law.