NH Property & Casualty cheat sheet

The New Hampshire Insurance Department, headed by a Commissioner appointed by the Governor with Executive Council approval, licenses producers, reviews policy forms and rates, and enforces the state Insurance Code.

A New Hampshire producer license runs for a two-year term; soliciting, negotiating, or selling insurance with a lapsed or expired license is a violation.

Producers must complete 24 continuing education credit hours per two-year term, including at least 3 hours of ethics, before renewal.

A licensee must notify the Department of a change of address within 30 days and report criminal convictions or administrative actions taken by other states within 30 days.

Premiums a producer collects are held in a fiduciary capacity, must be accounted for promptly, and may not be commingled with the producer's personal funds.

Unfair trade practice statutes prohibit misrepresentation, false advertising, rebating, twisting, boycotts, and unfair claim settlement practices.

The New Hampshire Insurance Guaranty Association (RSA 404-B) pays covered claims of insolvent property and casualty insurers up to $300,000 per claim.

New Hampshire has no compulsory auto liability insurance law; a driver must instead file proof of financial responsibility after an uninsured or at-fault accident and certain violations.

Pure risk involves only the chance of loss or no loss and is insurable; speculative risk involves the chance of gain and is not insurable.

Elements of an insurable risk: many similar exposure units, losses that are accidental, definite, and measurable, calculable probability, and no catastrophic concentration.

Physical hazards are tangible conditions (icy steps); moral hazards involve dishonesty or intent to create loss; morale hazards involve carelessness or indifference.

Indemnity restores the insured to approximately the pre-loss financial position, never to a better position than before the loss.

Actual cash value = replacement cost minus depreciation; replacement cost valuation pays new-for-old with no depreciation deduction.

Insurable interest in property must exist at the time of loss; in life insurance it must exist at the time the policy is applied for.

Utmost good faith imposes three duties: truthful representations, no concealment of material facts, and compliance with warranties.

Subrogation transfers the insured's right of recovery against a negligent third party to the insurer after the claim is paid, preventing double recovery.

The law of large numbers holds that as similar exposure units increase, actual loss experience approaches expected loss, improving rate accuracy.

Coinsurance payment = (insurance carried ÷ insurance required) × loss, then subtract the deductible; insurance required = coinsurance percentage × value at time of loss.

An 80% coinsurance clause means the limit carried must equal at least 80% of the property's replacement cost to avoid a penalty on partial losses.

Standard property exclusions include earth movement, flood, ordinance or law, neglect, intentional loss, war, and nuclear hazard.

Deductibles apply per occurrence and are normally subtracted after the coinsurance calculation in commercial property forms.

Pair and set: when one item of a set is damaged, payment is the difference between the value of the set before and after the loss, not the cost of a new set.

Other insurance clauses produce pro rata contribution by limits or excess contribution when two or more policies cover the same loss.

If a building stays vacant beyond 60 consecutive days, standard forms exclude vandalism, sprinkler leakage, building glass breakage, and water damage.

Debris removal, preservation of property, and collapse are additional coverages with their own sublimits inside the policy limit.

Loss valuation options include actual cash value, replacement cost, functional replacement cost, and agreed value.

Negligence requires four elements: a legal duty owed, a breach of that duty, proximate cause, and actual damages.

Liability policies pay compensatory damages for special (medical, wages) and general (pain and suffering) damages; punitive damages are generally uninsurable.

Occurrence forms respond to injury or damage that takes place during the policy period; claims-made forms respond to claims first made during the period.

Split limits apply per person and per occurrence for bodily injury and per occurrence for property damage; a combined single limit applies one amount per occurrence.

Supplementary payments such as defense costs, bail bond premiums, and lost earnings are paid in addition to the limit of liability.

Modified comparative negligence reduces an award by the claimant's share of fault and bars recovery once the claimant's fault passes the statutory threshold; New Hampshire applies modified comparative fault.

Workers compensation is an exclusive remedy: statutory medical, disability, and death benefits replace tort suits by employees against the employer.

Vicarious liability (respondeat superior) holds an employer responsible for negligent acts of employees committed within the scope of employment.

Strict liability imposes responsibility without proof of negligence, as with abnormally dangerous activities and defective products.

HO-3 insures the dwelling for open perils and personal property for named perils; HO-5 insures both dwelling and contents for open perils.

Standard homeowners limits: Coverage B other structures 10% of Coverage A, Coverage C personal property 50% of A, Coverage D loss of use 30% of A.

Homeowners special limits include $200 money, $1,500 securities, $1,500 theft of jewelry and furs, $2,500 theft of silverware, and $2,500 theft of firearms.

HO-4 covers a tenant's personal property, liability, and loss of use but not the building; HO-6 covers condominium unit property and building additions and alterations.

Coverage D pays additional living expense and fair rental value when the residence is uninhabitable because of a covered peril.

Flood and earth movement are excluded in homeowners and commercial property forms; flood must be insured separately through NFIP or a private flood policy.

Dwelling policies DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3 insure the dwelling and contents but provide no personal liability coverage.

Commercial property causes of loss forms are basic, broad, and special; the special form covers risks of direct physical loss unless excluded.

Business income coverage pays net income plus continuing normal expenses during the period of restoration, commonly after a 72-hour waiting period.

Personal auto policy parts: A liability, B medical payments, C uninsured/underinsured motorists, D collision and other-than-collision damage to the covered auto.

PAP covered autos include the listed auto, newly acquired autos, temporary substitute autos, and non-owned autos used with permission.

New Hampshire insurers must offer uninsured motorist coverage, and 25/50/25 are the reference limits used for proof of financial responsibility.

CGL Coverage A covers bodily injury and property damage, Coverage B covers personal and advertising injury, and Coverage C pays medical payments, all on an occurrence basis unless endorsed.

On a claims-made CGL, the retroactive date is the earliest occurrence date covered and the extended reporting period extends the time to report claims after expiration.

Workers compensation Part One pays statutory benefits, Part Two provides employers liability for tort suits outside the statute, and Part Three covers other states.

A businessowners policy packages property, general liability, and business income with a single limit for eligible small and medium businesses.

Umbrella policies pay above underlying limits and may drop down for gaps in underlying coverage, subject to a self-insured retention.

Products-completed operations coverage responds to bodily injury or property damage arising from the insured's product or completed work away from the premises.