Welcome to "What's the Scenario? with PLRB", where we explore claims & coverage scenarios relevant to insurance professionals. I'm Brennan McLoughlin, and we're taking a break this week after another successful PLRB Regional Innovation Summit. This week we'll share a follow-up episode from the PLRB Weather team.

A small grocery store specializes in farm-to-table meat and fish, locally sourced and priced at the high end of the market. After accepting their week's shipment on a Wednesday evening, thunderstorms led to a power outage that spoiled the fish.

Notable Timestamps

[ 00:36 ] - Another insured claims their back shed was hit by lightning, damaging expensive equipment.

[ 01:32 ] - The team discusses tips for what to do during a power outage.

[ 02:47 ] - On PLRB.org, on the Weather Hub, you can click Power Outage Report and enter in an address and date to see historical power outage reports in a grid with 1km x 1km squares.

[ 05:55 ] - The data can only demonstrate a probability that an outage occurred at the selected address.

[ 06:50 ] - The data does not include the cause of the power outage.

[ 07:00 ] - The lightning report data includes satellite data during a given 1-hour period for both in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning.

[ 09:40 ] - These reports can be used to confirm causality in a claim.

[ 10:24 ] - Tim & Mike chime in! Food spoilage claims can lead to confusion because the clauses frequently change. In these situations, it's best to read the policy carefully. Is there a distinction between on-premises and off-premises? Does it mention power failures as well as power surges? Is there an ensuing loss clause? The policy may also have an endorsement for food spoilage.

[ 12:43 ] - CP and BP form have an exclusion for artificially-generated electrical current, which would not apply in a lightning claim.

[ 03:24 ] - Andrew provides a recap of the scenario and the points above.

Your PLRB Resources

Get a Power Outage Report - https://www.plrb.org/weather-cat/power-outage-reports/

Get a Lightning Report - https://www.plrb.org/weather-cat/researching-lightning-data/

Adjuster Resource Sheet: Food Spoilage Claims Under Commercial Forms for Property Adjusters - https://www.plrb.org/documents/adjuster-resource-sheet-food-spoilage-claims-commercial/

Employees of member companies also have access to a searchable legal database, hundreds of hours of video trainings, building code materials, weather data, and even the ability to have your coverage questions answered by our team of attorneys (https://www.plrb.org/ask-plrb/) at no additional charge to you or your company.

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Please reach out to us with your scenario! This could be your "adjuster story" sharing a situation from your claims experience, or a burning question you would like the team to answer. In any case, please omit any personal information as we will anonymize your story before we share. Just reach out to scenario@plrb.org.

Legal Information

The views and opinions expressed in this resource are those of the individual speaker and not necessarily those of the Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB), its membership, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated. The information, ideas, and opinions are presented as information only and not as legal advice or offers of representation. Individual policy language and state laws vary, and listeners should rely on guidance from their companies and counsel as appropriate.

Music: "Piece of Future" by Keyframe_Audio. Pixabay. Pixabay License.
Font: Metropolis by Chris Simpson. SIL OFL 1.1.
Icons: FontAwesome (SIL OFL 1.1) and Noun Project (royalty-free licenses purchased via subscription).
Sound Effects: Pixabay (Pixabay License) and Freesound.org (CC0).

Welcome to "What's the Scenario? with PLRB", where we explore claims & coverage scenarios relevant to insurance professionals. I'm Brennan McLoughlin, and for this holiday week we'll be sharing a classic episode from the PLRB Weather team.

A CAT Manager is making preparations for her CAT team in advance of Hurricane Francine, which approached the Louisiana coast in the second week of September, 2024. She reads something about spaghetti models, and something about Fast Track cyclones?

Notable Timestamps

[ 00:36 ] - The building owner submits the claim to their property insurer, looking for coverage for a new bollard. They have a standard CP 00 10 10 12, which does not include coverage for fences if the cause of loss was an accidental vehicle crash.

[ 01:21 ] - The PLRB team discuss pasta recipes.

[ 02:47 ] - Hurricane Francine caused a great deal of damage to homeowners and businessowners by the Louisiana coast.

[ 04:35 ] - Andrew shares some screenshots, available on the YouTube version of this podcast.

[ 05:02 ] - An error cone is shown, demonstrating the suspected path of the hurricane.

[ 05:28 ] - Spaghetti models show the various paths Francine might have taken.

[ 05:46 ] - Peak storm surge forecasts color code area by feet of storm surge.

[ 06:44 ] - The "Best Track" includes line, point data, and cumulative wind history.

[ 07:20 ] - Spaghetti models are a forecasting tool that provides multiple expectant paths. Tracks closer together indicate certainty. These are available on PLRB.org or via API.

[ 08:33 ] - Andrew demonstrates how spaghetti models can change over time. Error cones may be superimposed on the spaghetti models.

[ 10:17 ] - Storm surge is the rise in seawater caused solely by the storm's winds pushing the water onto shore. Soup gets involved now.

[ 11:15 ] - Best Track is a representation of the tropical cyclone's direction and intensity. The Best Track wind swath shows how the storm changed.

[ 12:10 ] - Catastrophe Managers can use these forecasting tools in resource allocation. Best Track data can assist in estimating claim ratios. Claims Adjusters can use Best Track data to assist in claims decisions. Underwriters can use this historical data in risk assessment.

[ 13:19 ] - Andrew provides a recap of the scenario and the points above.

Your PLRB Resources

Tropical Storm Francine: https://www.plrb.org/weather-cat/2024-francine/

Spaghetti Models: https://www.plrb.org/documents/view-tropical-cyclone-track-spaghetti-models/

Best Track Data: https://www.plrb.org/documents/view-national-hurricane-center-tropical-cyclone-best-track-maps/

Employees of member companies also have access to a searchable legal database, hundreds of hours of video trainings, building code materials, weather data, and even the ability to have your coverage questions answered by our team of attorneys (https://www.plrb.org/ask-plrb/) at no additional charge to you or your company.

Subscribe to this Podcast

Your Podcast App - Please subscribe and rate us on your favorite podcast app

YouTube - Please like and subscribe at @plrb

LinkedIN - Please follow at "Property and Liability Resource Bureau"

Send us your Scenario!

Please reach out to us with your scenario! This could be your "adjuster story" sharing a situation from your claims experience, or a burning question you would like the team to answer. In any case, please omit any personal information as we will anonymize your story before we share. Just reach out to scenario@plrb.org.

Legal Information

The views and opinions expressed in this resource are those of the individual speaker and not necessarily those of the Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB), its membership, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated. The information, ideas, and opinions are presented as information only and not as legal advice or offers of representation. Individual policy language and state laws vary, and listeners should rely on guidance from their companies and counsel as appropriate.

Music: "Piece of Future" by Keyframe_Audio. Pixabay. Pixabay License.
Font: Metropolis by Chris Simpson. SIL OFL 1.1.
Icons: FontAwesome (SIL OFL 1.1) and Noun Project (royalty-free licenses purchased via subscription).
Sound Effects: Pixabay (Pixabay License) and Freesound.org (CC0).

A contractor was hired to renovate a kitchen. The homeowner was thrilled with the results, but asked for a few final punch-list items: adjusting the cabinet doors and replacing a damaged drawer pull. To reach the cabinets, the contractor moved the refrigerator, but failed to securely reconnect the ice maker supply line before leaving. Two days later, the homeowner discovered water throughout the kitchen and adjacent rooms after the line separated, damaging the newly renovated space and the surrounding flooring.

Notable Timestamps

[ 00:45 ] - Mike sets up today's scenario: a contractor's punch-list visit ends with a disconnected ice maker line and water damage throughout a newly renovated kitchen.

[ 05:08 ] - Brennan and Mike revisit the CGL's j(5) and j(6) exclusions, which apply only to ongoing operations on the particular part of the property being worked on -- not completed work.

[ 08:03 ] - Once an operation is complete, the Damage to Your Work exclusion takes over, precluding coverage for property damage to the insured's own completed work -- unless a subcontractor did that work.

[ 09:51 ] - "Your work" and the "products-completed operations hazard" are both specifically defined policy terms, complete with a three-part test for exactly when work is deemed done.

[ 11:37 ] - The team finds the carve-out they were looking for: coverage turns on whether the work "has not been completed or abandoned."

[ 14:45 ] - The kitchen renovation was substantially complete, so the water damage likely falls under the Your Work exclusion.

[ 15:19 ] - Either way, some damage may still be covered -- reconnecting the ice maker wasn't really the contractor's "work," so the resulting damage to the flooring is arguably separate, covered damage.

Your PLRB Resources

Coverage Question: Is This an Ongoing or Completed Operation?

https://members.plrb.org/documents/is-this-an-ongoing-or-completed-operation-2025-08-25fjg

Adjuster Resource Sheet: Faulty Work

https://members.plrb.org/documents/adjuster-resource-sheet-faulty-work

Employees of member companies also have access to a searchable legal database, hundreds of hours of video trainings, building code materials, weather data, and even the ability to have your coverage questions answered by our team of attorneys (https://www.plrb.org/ask-plrb/) at no additional charge to you or your company.

Subscribe to this Podcast

Your Podcast App - Please subscribe and rate us on your favorite podcast app

YouTube - Please like and subscribe at @plrb

LinkedIN - Please follow at "Property and Liability Resource Bureau"

Send us your Scenario!

Please reach out to us at 630-509-8704 with your scenario! This could be your "adjuster story" sharing a situation from your claims experience, or a burning question you would like the team to answer. In any case, please omit any personal information as we will anonymize your story before we share. Just reach out to scenario@plrb.org.

Legal Information

The views and opinions expressed in this resource are those of the individual speaker and not necessarily those of the Property & Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB), its membership, or any organization with which the presenter is employed or affiliated. The information, ideas, and opinions are presented as information only and not as legal advice or offers of representation. Individual policy language and state laws vary, and listeners should rely on guidance from their companies and counsel as appropriate.

Music: "Piece of Future" by Keyframe_Audio. Pixabay. Pixabay License.

Font: Metropolis by Chris Simpson. SIL OFL 1.1.

Icons: FontAwesome (SIL OFL 1.1) and Noun Project (royalty-free licenses purchased via subscription).

Sound Effects: Pixabay (Pixabay License) and Freesound.org (CC0).