Court Opinion

ID: 9670297
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:18:22.333766+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:03.698690
License: Public Domain

Levin, J.
(dissenting). The question presented is whether a homeowner’s insurance policy covers a dwelling described in the policy that is sold by the insured between the date the policy is issued and the date of a fire. I would hold that the policy provides coverage although the dwelling was sold before the fire.
The policy issued by defendant, Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance, states that the insurer covers "the dwelling on the residence premises shown in *174the Declarations.”1 "Residence premises” is defined as the "one-family dwelling” "where you reside and which is shown as the 'residence premises’ in the Declarations.”2
The house owned by plaintiff, Richard J. Heniser, was a one-family dwelling, and it was shown in the Declarations. Heniser, however, sold the dwelling, November 1, 1988, on land contract, between September 28, 1988, when the homeowner’s policy was renewed for an additional year, and January 12, 1989, the date of the fire.
A
The majority holds that the "policy is unambiguous,”3 and that "where you reside” speaks not only as of the date the renewal certificate of insurance was issued by the insurer or the date it became effective, September 28, 1988, but also unambiguously as of the date of the fire, January 12, 1989, with the result that because Heniser ceased to *175reside at the dwelling described in the Declarations after he sold the dwelling on land contract, the dwelling was no longer covered for fire as residence premises.
The words "where you reside” are in the present tense. Had Heniser read the homeowner’s policy when he received the renewal certificate, as this Court has cautioned insureds to do, he would understandably have concluded that the dwelling was insured because that is where he resided at the time he received the renewal certificate.
In the unlikely event that it then crossed Heniser’s mind to think about whether he would be insured were he to sell the dwelling at some future date — as it happened a few months later — he, a layman not seeking to find a hidden meaning, would again understandably have concluded that the dwelling would be covered throughout the one-year renewal term.
If "where you reside” were truly "unambiguous” as the majority holds, there would be no need to add "at the time of the loss” following "reside” or "residence premises” in the majority opinion.4
The words "at the time of the loss” do not appear in the policy. The majority points to no other words that "unambiguously” indicate that "where you reside” speaks as of the time of the *176loss rather than as of the date a certificate or a renewal certificate of insurance is issued or becomes effective.5
The differing views expressed in the majority and dissenting opinions in the Court of Appeals, and in the cases relied on by the dissenting Court of Appeals judge and the majority in this Court, also suggest that the meaning of "where you reside,” and whether those words speak as of an indefinite future date of loss, is ambiguous.
B
The homeowner’s policy of insurance does not require an insured to notify the insurer of a change in occupancy or of a sale. The insured is only obliged, within sixty days after a ñre loss, and then only after the insurer so requests, to notify the insured of "changes in title or occupancy of the property during the term of the policy.”6_
*177C
We all agree that "where you reside” speaks unambiguously — and means that the insured must actually reside in the dwelling — as of the date a certificate or renewal certificate of insurance is issued or becomes effective. I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that "where you reside” also speaks unambiguously as of some indefinite future date, following issuance of the certificate or renewal certificate — requiring the insured to actually reside in the dwelling on the future date— when a fire loss may occur.
I conclude that because "where you reside” is present tense, and an ordinary layman insured who receives a renewal certificate and then resides in the insured dwelling who reads the policy when issued would understandably conclude he is covered for fire loss throughout the one-year term of the policy, and because the policy does not oblige the insured to notify the insurer of a change of occupancy until after a ñre loss, it is at least ambiguous whether "where you reside” speaks as of an indefinite future date after issuance requiring the insured to actually reside in the dwelling when a fire loss may occur.
Because, as the majority acknowledges, "[a]mbiguous provisions in an insurance contract are construed against the insurer and in - favor of coverage,”7 the ambiguity whether "where you reside” speaks as of an indefinite future date, and means that coverage is eliminated unless the insured continues to reside in the dwelling when a fire loss occurs, should be resolved in favor of providing coverage protective of Heniser’s substan*178tial insurable interest in the dwelling although he had sold the dwelling on land contract before the fire.8 Frankenmuth has offered no underwriting reason necessitating or justifying automatic cancellation of coverage upon a sale. Rarely, if ever, will it make an underwriting difference to an insurer whether a dwelling is insured for fire loss under a homeowner’s policy or a standard fire insurance policy.
i
Reading a homeowner’s policy as eliminating coverage when a dwelling is sold, although the dwelling continues to be occupied by a responsible person,9 adds a condition of coverage respecting fire loss neither set forth in the standard fire insurance policy nor permitted by the essential insurance act, and is not valid or enforceable.10
A
When the insurer issued the policy of insurance to Heniser, the Insurance Code provided that an insurer shall not issue a fire insurance policy that does not conform to all its provisions with the *179standard policy set forth in the Insurance Code. The standard policy does not provide that coverage is eliminated in the event of a change of ownership of the insured property. The standard policy provides, rather, that a fire insurer is not liable for loss "while a described building, whether intended for occupancy by owner or tenant, is vacant or unoccupied beyond a period of sixty consecutive days . . . .” 11
The majority’s reading of the homeowner’s policy as eliminating coverage upon a sale of the dwelling — although the dwelling continues to be occupied — adds a condition of coverage not set forth in the policy.
In FBS Mortgage Corp v State Farm Fire & Casualty Co of Bloomington, Illinois, 833 F Supp 688 (ND Ill, 1993), the homeowner’s policy provided coverage for a dwelling in language paralleling the language of the instant homeowner’s policy, including the definition of "residence premises” as the dwelling "where you reside.” The insurer denied coverage because neither insured person had resided in the dwelling during an eight-month period before the fire. One of the insureds had transferred her interest to the other insured, and the transferee-insured had been arrested and incarcerated in the Cook County Jail until after the fire. The court concluded that "residence premises” was ambiguous with respect to the insured’s claim, and that the construction urged by the insurer was unenforceable because it compromised the public policy set forth in the standard fire insurance policy.12
*180The only provision of the standard fire policy that bears on the extent of coverage following a sale of the property is the "insurable interest” provision, providing explicitly, what the law would imply, that the obligation of the insurer shall not "in any event [be] for more than the interest of the insured.” The homeowner’s policy similarly provides that the insurer is not liable beyond the amount of the insured’s interest at the time of loss.13
The provision in the homeowner’s policy regarding insurable interest thus parallels a similar provision in the standard fire insurance policy. *181And the provision in the homeowner’s policy requiring the insured to notify the insurer after loss of changes in title or occupancy parallels a similar provision in the standard fire policy.14
The homeowner’s policy, consistent with the standard fire policy, thus reduces coverage only to the extent the homeowner ceases as a result of a sale to have an insurable interest. Heniser clearly had a substantial insurable interest represented by title to the dwelling and the land contract seller’s interest.
B
The essential insurance act15 provides that a homeowner insurer "shall not refuse to insure, refuse to continue to insure, or limit the coverage available to an eligible person [defined as an 'owner-occupant’16] for home insurance, except in accordance with underwriting rules”17 (emphasis *182added) that are put in writing, filed with the Commissioner of Insurance, and applied uniformly.18 The act permits a homeowner insurer to terminate insurance "due to reasons which conform to the underwriting rules of the insurer” (emphasis added), effective not earlier than thirty days after notice to the insured of a specific reason for termination that so "conforms” to the underwriting rules of the insurer.19
Frankenmuth did not refuse to insure or refuse to continue to insure Heniser’s dwelling. Rather, it issued a renewal homeowner’s insurance certificate to then owner-occupant Heniser in September, 1988, over a month before he sold the dwelling on land contract and three and a half months before the fire. Owner-occupant Heniser, however, may have ceased to be an owner-occupant within the meaning of the essential insurance act when he sold the dwelling on land contract and ceased to occupy the dwelling.
Nor did Frankenmuth avail itself of the provi*183sion in the essential insurance act permitting termination of coverage by notifying Heniser that his homeowner’s insurance was terminated because he had vacated the dwelling after selling it on land contract. Frankenmuth claims rather that it can "limit the coverage available”20 to Heniser by the "where you reside” clause.
The essential insurance act permits a homeowner insurer to adopt an underwriting rule based on "[t]he unoccupancy of a dwelling for more than 60 days, if there is evidence of an intent to vacate or keep the premises vacant or unoccupied, as to the applicant or insured.”21 (Emphasis added.)
The construction of "where you reside” urged by Frankenmuth and adopted by the majority conflicts with the foregoing provision of the essential insurance act. Both address the same subject matter: elimination of coverage upon unoccupancy and vacation of the dwelling or intent to vacate by the insured. The construction adopted by the majority conflicts with the statute because a homeowner insurer may not adopt an underwriting rule permitting it to refuse to insure or renew or terminate coverage simply because the owner-occupant has vacated the premises; the underwriting rule only may provide for elimination of coverage if there has also been "unoccupancy of a dwelling for more than.60 days.”22
The construction adopted by the majority also conflicts with the essential insurance act because it eliminates coverage without the thirty days’ written notice to the insured required by the essential insurance act, after a homeowner’s policy has been issued to an eligible owner-occupant, *184stating a reason for termination that "conforms” to such a permitted underwriting rule.23
Such notice of termination is critical because it would have put Heniser, in the instant case, on notice of the need to obtain alternative insurance, and would have provided adequate time for him either to require the land contract purchaser to obtain his own homeowner’s policy or other fire insurance, as required by the land contract, showing Heniser as an additional insured as land contract seller, or to obtain in his own name a standard fire insurance policy to protect his insurable interest as land contract seller.
This summary disposition record does not justify elimination of Heniser’s insurance coverage.24 It does not appear whether Frankenmuth’s underwriting rules provide that it will not insure or renew insurance where there has been such unoccupancy and vacation of the dwelling or intent to vacate by the insured, and whether such an underwriting rule has been filed with the Commissioner of Insurance. Frankenmuth did not avail itself of the provision in the essential insurance act permitting it to terminate a homeowner’s policy for a reason that conforms to its underwriting rules by providing thirty days’ written notice to Heniser of termination of coverage for the reason that he had vacated the dwelling.25
*185II
Courts in other jurisdictions have considered whether "where you reside” or similar language eliminates coverage when the homeowner sells or ceases to occupy the dwelling.
A
In Reid v Hardware Mut Ins Co of Carolinas, Inc, 252 SC 339, 346; 166 SE2d 317 (1969), the policy described the dwelling as "owner occupied.” In Ins Co of North America v Howard, 679 F2d 147, 148 (CA 9, 1982), the policy provided coverage for "the described residence owned and occupied by the insured exclusively for residential purposes. . ."
In Reid, the insured had sold the property but remained liable on the mortgage. The Supreme Court of South Carolina concluded that "owner occupied” was a "description merely and is not an agreement that the insured should continue in the occupation of it”:
A statement in an insurance policy that the property is occupied by the insured as a dwelling for himself and family, is not a warranty that it shall continue to be so occupied but is only a warranty of the situation at the time the insurance is effected. German Ins Co [of Freeport, Ill] v Russell, 65 Kan 373; 69 P 345; 58 LRA 234 [(1902)].
There is no provision in the policy contract that the dwelling would be "owner occupied” during the term of the insurance contract nor any requirement that if the premises are otherwise occu*186pied than by the owner, notice of such change of occupancy or use would be given to the insurer. [252 SC 346-347.]
In Howard, the insured had rented her home for one year following her husband’s death.26 The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said:
We believe the Oregon Supreme Court would adopt the same reasonable, enlightened view of the effect of the "owned and occupied” language which the South Carolina court has adopted. We conclude that, under Oregon law, if an insurance company wishes to have a homeowner’s policy terminate upon rental of his home, it must so provide explicitly and unambiguously in the policy of insurance, and that a mere statement in the policy that he is the' owner and occupant is wholly insufficient for this purpose. Under any proper view of the law, a homeowner is entitled to be given specific and unequivocal notice in the insurance policy that his coverage will be forfeited upon his rental of his home so that if a death in the family, other changes in family or economic circumstances, or even just a desire to change his way of life, causes him to move from his home, he may make whatever other insurance arrangements are necessary to protect the assets which often represents all the remaining proceeds of a lifetime of labor.[27]
The majority states that Reid and Howard are distinguishable because of the differences in the insurance policy language in those and the instant cases, and that "the phrase 'where you reside’ in the policy before us is not a warranty but a *187statement of coverage.”28 (Emphasis added.) In Reid, the court paraphrased and did not quote the policy language. But in Howard, the "owned and occupied by the insured” policy language is set forth under "coverages.”29 The policy language in Howard is as much "a statemént of coverage” as the policy language in the instant case.30
The Oregon Court of Appeals in Farmers Ins Co of Oregon v Trutanich, 123 Or App 6; 858 P2d 1332 (1993), relied on Howard. The dwelling and other property was damaged by a tenant who was renting part of the house and who was engaged in a methamphetamine operation. Paralleling the definition in the instant case, "residence premises” was defined as "the one or two family dwelling and separate structures or that part of any other building where you reside, and shown in the Declarations.” (Emphasis added.) Noting the possible interpretations of "where you reside,” including some confusion concerning which structure the language was meant to modify, the court concluded that "where you reside” was "insufficient to take the house out of coverage.”31
A United States District Court in Virginia in *188Rush v Hartford Mut Ins Co, 652 F Supp 1432 (WD Va, 1987), also relied on Reid and Howard in finding coverage. The policy- spoke of "the described residence owned and occupied by the insured exclusively for -residence purposes . . . .”32 The court said that "[t]he mere statement that the insured property is a dwelling used principally for dwelling purposes is not clear and explicit enough to create a warranty.”33 The court characterized the clause as a representation required to be true at the time the policyholder applied for insurance.34
B
Much of the majority’s analysis hinges on decisions of the Georgia Court of Appeals. These decisions — Epps v Nicholson, 187 Ga App 246; 370 SE2d 13 (1988), Georgia Farm Bureau Mut Ins Co v Kephart, 211 Ga App 423; 439 SE2d 682 (1993), *189and Hill v Nationwide Mut Fire Ins Co, 214 Ga App 715; 448 SE2d 747 (1994) — consider "where you reside,”35 the language in this case.
In the first case, Epps, the Georgia court said "it is clear” that "the dwelling must be the place where the insured resides. . . .”36 In Kephart,37 the policy contained the same language as in Epps, with a "special provision,” not included in the policy in Epps or in Heniser’s policy, providing that " 'the residence premises [must be] the only premises where the named insured or spouse maintains a residence other than business or farm properties.’ ”38 The court found no coverage because the "plain and ordinary” meaning of the policy "requires that the named insured live in the residence listed on the declarations page and that the listed residence be the named insured’s only residence.”39
The Georgia court found, however, for the insured in Hill, on the basis of what it perceived to be different policy language. The definition of "residence premises” was "the one- or two-family dwelling, other structures and grounds; or that part of any other building where you live, shown *190as the residence premises on the Declarations.”40 (Emphasis added.) The court contrasted the language in Hill with the Epps language, noting differences in punctuation and grammar.41 The court also distinguished Hill from Kephart on the basis that the policy language was different and the Kephart policy contained the special provision requiring that the residence premises be the insured’s sole residence.42
In these cases, the Georgia courts, by couching their analyses in terms suggesting that the meaning is obvious and clear, protected their interpretation without having to offer reasoned justification.43 The extent to which the cases relied on by the majority have made fact-specific distinctions is evidenced by the Georgia court’s strained attempt to distinguish its decision in Hill from its decisions *191in Epps and Kephart. Were the clauses at issue in those cases truly unambiguous, there would have been no need to resort to analysis concerning the placement of conjunctions and colons. The majority engages in the same strained analysis in the instant case, attempting to show that, by placement of conjunctions and colons, the insurance policies are distinguishable.44
in
The majority asserts that its conclusion that the policy is unambiguous is strengthened by the provision in the land contract between Heniser and the purchaser obligating the purchaser to keep the buildings insured in the name of the seller against loss by fire and windstorm. The majority argues that "Heniser included this language” to protect himself against loss by fire, and that the inclusion of this language "indicates Heniser understood that his existing insurance policy would not cover the property after he sold it . . . .”45
Heniser did not include this language. It is standard boilerplate language in the printed land contract that he and the purchaser signed. This is not a case of an owner who did not recognize the need to insure the property from loss by fire. Heniser had purchased a homeowner’s policy. There is no reason to suppose that if he in fact "understood that his existing insurance policy would not cover the property after he sold it”46 that he would not have obtained substitute insurance either by seeking to enforce the land contract provision or otherwise obtaining insurance to protect his interest._
*192Frankenmuth was not a party to the land contract, and the language of the land contract has no bearing on the meaning of the language of the homeowner’s policy.
For reasons that probably do not appear on this record, when Heniser entered into the land contract he did not require the purchaser to provide evidence of fire insurance, which would generally be in the form of a homeowner’s policy with a loss-payable clause added showing that Heniser was an additional insured as the land contract seller. Heniser’s failure to require proof of insurance might have been attributable to ignorance on his part, which would be especially understandable if he was not represented by counsel. His or his counsel’s ignorance or neglect tells us nothing about the correct construction of "where you reside” in homeowner’s policies.
IV
The majority’s construction of "where you reside” leads to harsh results not mandated by any rule of construction or underwriting risk. A homeowner’s policy ceases to apply if an uninformed homeowner vacates the dwelling without causing policies of insurance to be rewritten. This is a windfall to insurers, to be availed of adventitiously. In the instant case, it was a fallback from its unsuccessful effort to withhold payment on factual grounds.47
Mallett, J., concurred with Levin, J.

 The policy provides:
SECTION I - PROPERTY COVERAGES
Coverage a - Dwelling
We cover:
1. the dwelling on the residence premises shown in the Declarations, including structures attached to the dwelling ....

 The policy provides:
DEFINITIONS
8. "residence premises” means: ■
a. the one family dwelling, other structures and grounds; or
b. that part of any other building;
where you reside and which is shown as the "residence premises” in the Declarations.

 Ante, p 157.

 The majority writes:
The policy is also clear that if Mr. Heniser did not "reside” at the insured property at the time of the loss, the property is not a "residence premises,” as defined by the policy, and the policy does not cover the loss. [Ante, pp 163-164. Emphasis added.]
Heniser has not, and cannot, demonstrate that the policy covers the destruction of the building. The policy in this case, read as a whole, is unambiguous and does not cover the loss because the property was not a "residence premises” at the time of the loss. [Ante, p 161. Emphasis added.]

 To be sure, the persons who, as members of the homeowner’s household, are additional insureds for particularly defined coverages may change during the term of the policy. Ante, pp 167-168. It does not follow that whether the dwelling is covered is also transient.

 The policy provides:
SECTION I - CONDITIONS
2. Your Duties After Loss. In case of a loss to covered property, you must see that the following are done:
g. send to us, within 60 days after our request, your signed, sworn proof of loss which sets forth, to the best of your knowledge and belief:
(1) the time and cause of loss;
(2) the interest of the insured and all others in the property involved and all liens on the property;
(3) other insurance which may cover the loss;
.(4) changes in title or occupancy of the property during the term of the policy ....

 Ante, p 160. The majority cites Group Ins Co of Michigan v Czopek, 440 Mich 590; 489 NW2d 444 (1992), and Powers v DAIIE, 427 Mich 602, 624; 398 NW2d 411 (1986).

 This Court pertinently observed:
Recognizing the disparity in the bargaining positions of the companies which write insurance and the consumers who buy the policies, both the statutory law and judicial decisions have aimed at making certain that the interests of every insured are protected. [Morgan v Cincinnati Ins Co, 411 Mich 267, 275; 307 NW2d 53 (1981).]

 There is no suggestion that the risk was increased by the sale to Heniser’s land contract vendee, or that he was a person with a prior arson or bad risk history or otherwise would not have been an eligible person within the meaning of the essential insurance act. See n 15.

 See Borman v State Farm Fire & Casualty Co, 446 Mich 482; 521 NW2d 266 (1994).

 MCL 500.2832; MSA 24.12832.

 The pertinent language of the Michigan and Illinois standard fire policies is the same. The court said:
The Standard Policy sets forth a limited number of exclu*180sions for restricting coverage. The only exclusion involving occupancy provides that an insurance company will not be liable for losses occurring when "a described building, whether intended for occupancy by owner or tenant, is vacant or unoccupied beyond a period of sixty consecutive days.” (Standard Policy, lines 28-35). Illinois courts have construed "vacant or unoccupied” to mean “that [a] dwelling was without an occupant at the time of the loss, that is, that no person was living in it.” [Citations omitted.] Accordingly, the Standard Policy’s exclusion is inapplicable in this case because Cabrera lived at the Insured Premises until December 15, 1990 — 15 days before the fire.
State Farm’s proposed interpretation of the Homeowner’s Policy denies coverage in the absence of continuous, physical inhabitation of the Insured Premises by the Named Insured at the time of loss. Hence, State Farm broadens the Standard Policy’s exclusions by requiring physical occupation of the Insured Premises for a period of less than 60 days before the loss. In doing so, State Farm unlawfully compromises the Standard Policy by diminishing the coverage it provides to achieve uniformity and • concurrence of contract. [FBS Mortgage, supra, p 695. Emphasis in original.]

 The policy provides:
SECTION I - CONDITIONS
1. Insurable Interest and Limit of Liability. Even if more than one person has an insurable interest in the property covered, we will not be liable in any one loss:
a. to the insured for more than the amount of the insured’s interest at the time of loss; or
b. for more than the applicable limit of liability.

 The standard policy provides that within sixty days after loss the insured shall render proof of loss stating, among other things, "any changes in the title, use, occupation, location, possession or exposures of said property since the issuing of this policy . . . .” MCL 500.2832; MSA 24.12832.

 1979 PA 145; MCL 500.2101 et seq.; MSA 24.12101 et seq.

 "Eligible person,” for home insurance, means a person who is the owner-occupant or tenant of a dwelling of any of the following types: a house, a condominium unit, a cooperative unit, a room, an apartment; or a person who is the owner-occupant of a multiple unit dwelling of not more than 4 residential units. [MCL 500.2103(2); MSA 24.12103(2).]
The term "owner-occupant” is not statutorily defined.
An "eligible” owner-occupant does not include a person convicted of arson, or a person who has committed other specifically defined transgressions. MCL 500.2103(2); MSA 24.12103(2).

 As a condition of maintaining its certificate of authority, an insurer shall not refuse to insure, refuse to continue to insure, or limit the coverage available to an eligible person for home insurance, except in accordance with underwriting rules established pursuant to this section and section 2119. [MCL 500.2117(1); MSA 24.12117(1).]

 MCL 500.2119; MSA 24.12119.

 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) or (3), a termination of insurance shall not be effective unless the insurer, at least 30 days prior to the date of termination, delivers or mails to the named insured at the person’s last known address a written notice of the termination. The notice shall state the effective date of termination and each specific reason for the termination.
(2) A notice of termination mailed or delivered within the first 55 days after the initial issuance of a policy may be made effective not less than 20 days after the date of mailing or delivery of the notice.
(3) A notice of termination for nonpayment of premium shall be effective as provided in the policy.
(4) A termination of insurance shall not be effective unless the termination is due to reasons which conform to the underwriting rules of the insurer for that insurance.
(5) This section shall not authorize an insurer to terminate an automobile insurance policy in violation of chapter 32. [MCL 500.2123; MSA 24.12123.]

 See n 17.

 MCL 500.2117(2)(h); MSA 24.12117(2)(h).

 See text accompanying n 21.

 See n 19.

 The filing of such an underwriting rule would not have validated the "where you reside” clause, which literally eliminates coverage automatically upon unoccupancy and vacation of the premises, even though the premises have not been unoccupied for more than sixty days.

 See n 21.
It is again relevant that the homeowner’s policy does not require an insured to notify the insurer of a change in occupancy or of a sale, and requires notice only after a fire loss of a change in title or occupancy. See text accompanying, and n 7.
To be sure, Heniser was aware of the change in occupancy and of *185the sale on land contract. But so, too, is an insured who fails to pay premiums timely. Nevertheless, the statutes provide, as here, that the insurer must give written notice of cancellation or termination and the reason therefor — notice that Frankenmuth failed to give in this case.

 The majority states that it would be faced with a different situation if the insured continued to retain the right to reside at the residence premises, as where the insured moves out before the dwelling is sold. Ante, p 160, n 5.
If "where you reside” were truly unambiguous, coverage would not depend on factual differences.

 Id. at 149.

 Ante, p 166.

 The policy in Howard provided:
I. COVERAGES
Coverage a. Dwelling. Coverage a insures, subject to the Exclusions and limitations stated herein, the described residence owned and occupied by the insured exclusively for residential purposes .... [Id. at 148.]

 See n 1 for the policy language in the instant case, which is similarly set forth under "coverages.”

 The majority seeks to distinguish Trutanich on the basis that the clause there at issue was different than the one at issue in the instant case. But the clause in Trutanich, defining “residence premises” as the dwelling "where you reside,” is substantively the same as the language in the instant case. Ante, p 166, n 12.
The majority continues that Trutanich was primarily concerned with which type of dwelling "where you reside” modified. The major*188ity ignores the import of the. court’s conclusion that there was coverage and its relevance to the instant case by suggesting that Trutanich really is a case about word placement and that it should be applied only in a case with similar facts (because it concerned the rental of insured property, as did Howard).

 Id. at 1435. The insured house was rented to a business that intended to use it to house truckers. Part of the building was used for business purposes.

 Id.

 The Missouri Court of Appeals concluded similarly in Huffstutter v Michigan Mut Ins Co, 778 SW2d 391, 394 (Mo App, 1989). A clubhouse on the property adjacent to the insured’s house was damaged by hail. Although it did not cite Howard or Reid, the Missouri court examined similar policy language that stated that the "described dwelling” was "occupied principally as a private residence.” Id. at 393. The court held that there was coverage, rejecting the insurer’s construction that the clubhouse must be occupied and used by the insureds as their primary place of residence. The court refused to read an occupancy requirement into the policy, and construed the policy as requiring only that the clubhouse be used as a dwelling house.

 The policy definition described "residence premises” as "the one or two family dwelling, other structures, and grounds or that part of any other building where you reside and which is shown as the 'residence premises’ in the Declarations.”

 Id. at 247. The court denied coverage because the dwelling had been rented to a tenant.

 The insured had bought a house with her ex-husband before the divorce. When the marriage dissolved, the insured instructed the insurer to remove her ex-husband’s name from the policy. The insured did not keep the house as part of the divorce (and thus the only spouse with an insurable interest was not a named insured), moving out of state, but leaving some possessions, after which the ex-husband moved into the house with his girlfriend. The house and garage were destroyed by fire a month after the divorce was finalized.

 211 Ga App 424.

 Id. at 424-425. .

 214 Ga App 715. The facts were only briefly noted by the court. They were that the insureds had a policy on their home, from which they moved in June 1992. The house was fire damaged in August 1992.

 The court said:
One major difference in the wording of the Epps and instant clauses is the inclusion of the word "and” between "where you reside” and "which is shown . . . [on the declaration page]” in the Epps clause. This language makes it clear that in the Epps policy, both situations are required. The conjunctive "and” does not, however, appear in the instant clause. To the contrary, the instant clause includes a disjunctive "or,” which is not present in the Epps clause at all. Additionally, the inclusion of the semi-colon in the instant clause clearly shows that "where you live,” without any intervening punctuation, is only intended to modify "that part of any other building.” [Id. at 717.]

 Id. at 718.

 The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in Nancarrow v Aetna Casualty & Surety Co, 932 F2d 742, 744 (CA 8, 1991), held for the insurer where the house was abandoned by the insured, the policy had been canceled for nonpayment of the premium (the plaintiff contending that the cancellation was ineffective), and no one having lived in the house for a number of years. Similarly, in Shepard v Keystone Ins Co, 743 F Supp 429 (D Md, 1990), no one had lived in the house for a number of years.

 Ante, p 170.

 Id., p 162.

 Id.

 Frankenmuth also contended that Heniser’s claim was barred because of fraud and false swearing with respect to the value of personal property damage by the fire. The circuit judge ruled against Frankenmuth on this issue.