A two year old commercial building insured on an all Risk form suffers a roof collapse due to a latent defect. How is the insured covered?

In the scenario presented, the insured suffers a roof collapse due to a latent defect in a two-year-old commercial building. Under an all-risk insurance policy, coverage generally includes a wide range of risks unless specifically excluded. However, latent defects, which are issues that are not readily observable and arise from inherent flaws in the property, are often considered exclusions in property insurance policies.

In this case, since the roof collapse is attributed to a latent defect, it falls outside the scope of coverage provided by the policy. Insurance policies typically expect the property owner to maintain the building adequately and to address any known issues. As such, latent defects that lead to significant damage, like a roof collapse, are not covered, resulting in no coverage for the insured for this specific incident.

This emphasizes the importance of understanding the specific terms of an insurance policy, including what is and is not covered, especially concerning inherent defects in a property's structure or systems.