Virginia Law

A. For policies providing open causes of loss, insurers may exclude direct loss to the dwelling, other structures, or household and personal property caused by any of the following:

1. Wear and tear; marring or scratching; deterioration; inherent vice; latent defect; mechanical breakdown; rust; mold; wet or dry rot; pollutants; smog; smoke from agricultural smudging or industrial operations; settling, cracking, shrinkage, bulging, or expansion of pavements, patios, foundations, walls, floors, roofs, or ceilings; or birds, vermin, rodents, insects, or animals owned or kept by an insured. If a covered cause of loss ensues, insurers shall provide coverage for the ensuing loss.

2. Theft in or to a dwelling under construction, or of materials or supplies for use in the construction, until construction is completed and the residence premises is occupied.

3. Vandalism and malicious mischief or glass breakage if the dwelling on the insured premises was vacant. If a covered cause of loss ensues, insurers shall provide coverage for the ensuing loss.

4. Collapse, except as required by subsection N of 14VAC5-342-40.

B. For policies providing open causes of loss, insurers may exclude direct loss to household and personal property caused by any of the following:

1. Breakage of eyeglasses, glassware, statuary, marbles, bric-a-brac, porcelains, and similar fragile articles, except jewelry, watches, bronzes, cameras, and photographic lenses. This exclusion shall not apply to loss caused by or resulting from the causes of loss in subsection C of 14VAC5-342-50, earthquake, and water not otherwise excluded.

2. Dampness of atmosphere or extremes of temperature unless the loss is directly caused by rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

3. Refinishing, renovating, or repairing property other than watches, jewelry, and furs.

4. From the unauthorized use of a credit card or debit card; or loss by forgery or alterations of a written promise, order, or direction to pay a sum certain in money.

5. Destruction or seizure by order of any government or public authority.

6. Collision, sinking, swamping, or stranding of watercraft, trailers used with watercraft, and watercraft furnishings, equipment, and motors. This exclusion does not apply to collision involving a motor vehicle.

C. For all causes of loss, insurers may:

1. Regardless of any other cause of loss or event contributing concurrently or in any sequence, exclude loss caused directly or indirectly by any of the following:

a. Water, as follows:

(1) Flood, ground surface water, waves, seiche, tidal water or tidal waves, overflow of a body of water, or spray from any of these, whether natural or manmade;

(2) Water that backs up through sewers or drains;

(3) Water that overflows or is discharged from a sump pump or other type of system designed to remove subsurface water that is drained from the foundation area;

(4) Water below the surface of the ground including water that exerts pressure on or flows, seeps, or leaks through (i) sidewalks; (ii) driveways; (iii) foundations; (iv) swimming pools; (v) walls; (vi) basements or floors; or (vii) doors, windows, or other openings;

(5) Material carried or moved by water referred to in subdivisions 1 a (1), 1 a (2), and 1 a (3) of this subsection; or

(6) The exclusions for water loss in subdivisions 1 a (1) through 1 a (5) of this subsection do not apply to:

(a) A loss by theft; or

(b) An ensuing loss caused by fire or explosion.

b. Earth movement, natural or manmade, including earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudflow, or other earth movement caused by sinking, rising, shifting, or expansion. Insurers shall provide coverage for:

(1) A loss by theft; or

(2) An ensuing loss caused by fire, explosion, or breakage of glass that is a part of the dwelling or other structure.

c. Enforcement of ordinances or laws regulating the construction, repair, or demolition of dwellings or other structures. Insurers shall provide coverage when an ordinance or law requires the use of safety glass in replacement of damaged glass that is a part of the dwelling or other structure.

d. Interruption of power or other utility service furnished to the insured premises if the interruption takes place away from the insured premises. Insurers shall provide coverage for the ensuing loss if a covered cause of loss ensues on the insured premises because of the power interruption.

e. Enemy attack by armed forces including action taken by military, naval, or air forces in resisting an actual or immediately impending enemy attack, invasion, insurrection, rebellion, revolution, civil war, usurped power, or action taken by governmental authority in hindering, combating, or defending against the event; order of civil authority except acts of destruction at the time of and for preventing the spread of fire, provided that the fire did not originate from an excluded cause of loss.

f. Nuclear reaction, nuclear radiation, or radioactive contamination as set forth in § 38.2-2102 A of the Code of Virginia.

g. The exclusions in subdivisions 1 a through 1 f of this subsection apply even if one or more of the following concurrently contribute to the loss:

(1) Weather conditions;

(2) Acts or decisions, or the failure to act or decide, of a person, group, organization, or governmental body; or

(3) Faulty, inadequate, or defective:

(a) Planning, zoning, development, surveying, or siting;

(b) Design, specifications, workmanship, repair, construction, renovation, remodeling, grading, or compaction;

(c) Materials used in repair, construction, renovation, or remodeling; or

(d) Maintenance.

2. Exclude direct loss caused by:

a. Freezing of or by discharge, leakage, or overflow from plumbing, heating, or air conditioning systems or domestic appliances. This exclusion applies only to a dwelling that is vacant, under construction, or unoccupied for four or more consecutive days, and the insured has failed to (i) exercise due diligence to maintain heat in the dwelling or other structures, or (ii) drain the systems and appliances and shut off the water supply.

b. Continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam from within a plumbing, heating, or air conditioning system or domestic appliance over a period of weeks, months, or years. This exclusion does not apply to household and personal property.

c. Freezing, thawing, or by the pressure or weight of ice or water to fences, pavements, patios, swimming pools, foundations, retaining walls, bulkheads, piers, wharves, or docks.

d. Windstorm or hail to the following property (i) overhead structures, including supports and screening, constructed principally of cloth, metal, fiberglass, or plastic and erected to provide protection from the elements; (ii) fences; (iii) seawalls; (iv) property line or other free-standing walls; (v) greenhouses, hothouses, slathouses, trellises, pergolas, or cabanas; (vi) wharves, docks, piers, boathouses, bulkheads, or other similar structures located over or partially over water and the property on or within these structures; or (vii) outdoor equipment pertaining to the service of the residence premises.

e. Neglect of the insured to use all reasonable means to protect the property during and after a loss.

f. An intentional act by a person insured under the policy that was directed or committed by that person, but only with respect to that person.

D. Insurers may exclude coverage for the following types of property:

1. Accounts, bills, or currency including virtual or digital, deeds, evidences of debt, money, scrip, stored value cards, smart cards, securities, bullion, manuscripts, letters of credit, bank notes, or notes other than bank notes;

2. Aircraft and parts except insurers shall provide coverage for (i) drones without cameras and drones that are not capable of carrying people or cargo and (ii) hobby aircraft or model aircraft that is not capable of carrying people or cargo;

3. Animals, birds, or fish;

4. Business property, except household and personal property is not business property unless the property is in that part of the residence premises rented and occupied for home-sharing;

5. Electronic equipment that is permanently installed in a motor vehicle;

6. Tapes, wires, records, discs, or other media used with electronic equipment in a motor vehicle while the property is in or on a motor vehicle;

7. Motor vehicles, motorized bicycles, and hovercraft; except (i) vehicles used to service the residence premises, (ii) utility trailers that are not licensed for road use, and (iii) electric mobility devices designed to assist an individual that has a disability;

8. Property of (i) tenants ; (ii) roomers and boarders not related to the insured; and (iii) home-sharing occupants during the period of their home-sharing rental;

9. Property rented to others except as provided in subdivision C 3 of 14VAC5-342-40;

10. Property that is unlawful to own or possess under state or federal law; or

11. Property that is separately described and specifically insured by this insurance or other insurance.