Neb. Joins Va. in Limiting Liability Under Standard Fire Policy

Gov. Mike Johanns, a Republican, made Nebraska the second state to enact a law that changes the Standard Fire Policy Act related to commercial insurance policies.

Virginia was the first state to take such action late last month, and Minnesota’s governor is expected to sign a similar bill soon, according to the Alliance of American Insurers, which represents 340 property/casaulty insurers. Michigan is holding hearings on its version of a bill.

Like the Virginia measure, the Nebraska law “will not require Standard Fire Policy insurance contracts to cover a fire loss that ensues from a certified act of terrorism if the insured has refused coverage offered as mandated by the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act,” said Bill Schroeder, vice president of the Alliance’s Midwest Region. “This will go a long way toward bringing needed stability to the state’s commercial insurance market.”

Similar bills have been introduced in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Oklahoma. In addition, industry efforts to change the law are underway in Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington as well as the other 15 states that require the New York Standard Fire Policy.