The tenant of a rental home was repairing the brake line on his automobile stored in the attached garage when the gas tank fell to the floor and sparked a fire. The fire caused damage of over $150,000.00. The landlord’s insurer, North Waterloo Mutual Farmers Insurance, paid for the cost of the repair and sought indemnification from the tenant’s policy with Economical Mutual Insurance Company. Economical denied coverage on the basis of an exclusion for “claims made against [the insured] from…the ownership, use or operation of any motorized vehicle”. Justice Faieta concluded that the loss arose from the use or operation of the tenant’s vehicle and that the tenant’s policy with Economical did not cover the loss.
