The ISO homeowners policy provides coverage for personal property on a named peril basis caused by, among other things, windstorm or hail.  The same named peril does not include loss to personal property contained in a building caused by rain, snow, sleet, sand or dust.  However, this limitation is inapplicable when the direct force of wind damages the building, causing an opening in a roof and the rain, snow, sleet, sand or dust enters through that opening and damages the personal property.  What happens when the insured is repairing a roof or adding a second story and the opening is covered by plastic sheeting, tarps and/or tar paper at the top of the building?  Does that constitute a roof?  The majority view is that plastic sheeting, tarps and/or tar paper covering a hole in the roof or the top of a second story addition does not constitute a “roof.”

Although the Connecticut courts have not addressed the issue of whether temporary covers like plastic sheeting, tarps and/or tar paper constitute a “roof,” a majority of jurisdictions have held that it does not.  In Diep v. California Fair Plan Association, 15 Cal. App. 4th 1205 (1993), the court noted that the term “roof” had many different meanings, including “a permanent part of the structure it covers.”  Id. at 1209.  The court also concluded that the word “roof” could “not have reasonably been construed by the parties to include a temporary cover of plastic sheeting.”  Id. at 1210 (emphasis added).  The court held that “plastic sheeting” was not a roof and that the insurance policy did not provide coverage for the insureds’ damaged personal property.

The Diep court relied upon Camden Fire Insurance Association v. New Buena Vista Hotel Co., 199 Miss. 585 (1946) (holding that because repairs made by workers had not progressed far enough to come within the definition of a roof, there was no coverage on a named peril basis for damage to personal property caused by rain entering the building) and New Hampshire Insurance Co. v. Carter, 359 So. 2d 52 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1978) (holding that even though the insured covered the roof with the tar paper, the rain leaked through the roof solely because the insureds had removed the protective covering of the shingles and “unless there was actual prior damage to the roof or wall occasioned by wind or hail, no loss to unscheduled personal property caused by rain is covered.)

Other jurisdictions have concluded that plastic sheeting, tar paper or felt do not constitute a “roof.”  See Charter Oak Fire Ins. Co. v. Carteret Ed. County Board of Commissioners, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 17122 (4th Cir. July 12, 1996) (holding that plywood sheeting and roofing felt covering the insured property “did not constitute a roof”); Interior Shutters, Inc. v. Valiant Ins. Co., 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 33816 (10th Cir. Dec. 28, 2000) (holding that the term “roof” as used in the policy was unambiguous and did not include plastic sheeting); Arkady Aginsky v. Farmers Ins. Exchange, 409 F. Supp. 2d 1230 (D. Or. 2005) (holding that a “roof” is a permanent structure according to its commonly understood meaning and that a temporary structure consisting of a wooden frame would not be considered a roof “by any reasonable person”).

However, two courts have reached opposite results.  See Homestead Fire Ins. Co. v. De Witt, 206 Okla. 570 (1952) (holding that the windstorm named peril providing coverage was also contained in a builder’s risk policy providing coverage for materials and equipment supplies in temporary structures incident to construction); Victory Peach Group, Inc. v. Greater New York Mutual Ins. Co., 310 N.J. Super. 82 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1998) (holding that repairs to the roof including tarps blown off by high winds should be considered a roof for purposes of determining whether the property had sustained damage to a cause of loss).

The conclusion reached by the majority of cases cited above is also consistent with the definition of a “roof” in Webster’s Third International Dictionary, from which Connecticut courts frequently rely upon.  Webster’s Third International Dictionary defines “roof,” in part, as “1.a.:  The outside cover of a building or structure, including the roofing and all the materials and construction necessary to maintain the cover upon its walls or other support.”  Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1986 ed.).

Thus, ample authority exists for the proposition that temporary or stopgap coverings such as plywood, tar paper and/or old plastic sheeting on the top of a dwelling do not constitute a “roof” as that term is utilized in the wind storm or hail named peril in a homeowners policy of insurance.  This is important, because it protects carriers from having to afford coverage for, essentially, a risk they did not intend to underwrite: exposed, easily damaged contents.  Consequently, carriers faced with personal property claims in such circumstances should be aware they have a strong coverage defense.