American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, part of Assurant, submitted updated underwriting guidelines for its Connecticut condominium insurance program. The filing replaces the company’s prior condo underwriting manual and is scheduled to take effect October 1, 2027 for new business and November 1, 2027 for renewals.
The filing provides a detailed look into the types of condo risks Assurant is willing to insure — and the growing list of property, liability, and maintenance exposures it wants to avoid.
Among the more notable restrictions:
- Condos built over water are ineligible.
- Units with knob-and-tube wiring, aluminum wiring, Federal Pacific breaker boxes, polybutylene plumbing, lead plumbing, buried steel tanks, oil tanks, EIFS siding, or Chinese drywall are declined.
- Condos with prior sinkhole damage or hazardous adjacent conditions are also excluded.
The company is also tightening liability exposure appetite. Ineligible risks include:
- Home day care operations
- Assisted living operations
- College housing use
- Unfenced hot tubs
- Unnetted trampolines
- Skateboard or bicycle ramps
Animal underwriting restrictions are similarly strict. Condo units with more than three dogs are ineligible, as are properties with exotic animals, farm animals, or animals with prior bite histories.
The filing also highlights how Assurant approaches loss history. Applicants with two or more non-weather losses within the past three years are generally ineligible, and unresolved prior losses that continue to present future risk may also lead to declination.
On the high-value personal property side, the company places hard caps on scheduled items:
- Jewelry items above $30,000 are ineligible
- Total scheduled jewelry cannot exceed $50,000
- Any scheduled item above $25,000 is generally prohibited
- Firearms and sports memorabilia are excluded from scheduling eligibility
One unusual provision allows engagement rings owned by a fiancé to be scheduled under the policy, with the fiancé listed as an additional insured solely for that item.
The filing also states that trusts, LLCs, entertainers, and politicians are not eligible insureds under the program.
Separately, the filing includes Connecticut regulatory questionnaires related to AI and predictive underwriting. Assurant stated that predictive models are not used for underwriting, and that credit is not used in underwriting decisions for the program.
The filing is currently pending industry response after Connecticut regulators requested a revised side-by-side comparison document for review.