A pamphlet, Are Our Schools Safe After the Marshall Fire, caught my attention. The bottom line is that smoke damage caused by urban wildfires is much more dangerous than conventional wildfires. The parents of school children in the vicinity of the Colorado Marshall Fire are correctly raising concerns about the safety of schools impacted by toxic smoke damage.    

Continue Reading After The Urban Wildfire and Safety Concerns

An insurance class action case in Nebraska recently discussed obligations of good faith and fair dealing.1 Nebraska recognizes that the breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing is actionable and provides policyholders with extracontractual remedies.

Continue Reading Nebraska Recognizes Insurance First Party Bad Faith Actions

Mike Duffy and yours truly will be speaking at the First Party Claims Conference next week. Our presentation will analyze recent trends in property claims and will focus on the following topics:

  • Proof of Loss and Amount of Claim Issues
  • Appraisal
  • Assignment of Benefits
  • Inflation and Coinsurance
  • Fire and Smoke Claims
  • Depreciation of Labor
  • Surplus Lines Policy Form Changes
Continue Reading First Party Claims Conference West One Day Conference Next Wednesday in Marina Del Rey

Policyholders must be aware of arbitration clauses found in property insurance policies. Even if a state has an anti-arbitration law, most courts send the disputes to arbitration and possibly apply another state’s laws if the insurers are not based in the United States. For example, yesterday, a federal court ruled:1  

Continue Reading Missouri Court Upholds Arbitration Despite Anti-Arbitration Statute When Foreign Insurers Are Involved

A recent law review article, Policyholder Misrepresentation in Insurance Claims,1 written by insurance law professor Jay Feinman raised the issue of insurance companies wrongfully claiming fraud as a claims practice. Personally, I am sick and tired of the overuse of fraud allegations by insurance companies and their propagandists. Based on the significant amount of fraud claimed by insurance defense counsel and insurance company lobbyists, insurance seems to be a product more addictive than opioids because it turns a great deal of an otherwise innocent public into criminals.  

Continue Reading Do Insurance Companies Claim Fraud by the Policyholder for Opportunistic Reasons?

Florida Republican Legislators made a rule limiting public testimony from people who went all the way to Tallahassee to complain about insurance company misconduct last December during the special session which passed laws protecting insurance companies. They cut off the testimony of the whistleblowing independent adjusters who were providing evidence about the bad conduct of Florida insurance companies. Florida Republican leaders are now doing the same thing with new laws regarding insurance company bad faith while making new laws shielding insurance companies in third-party bad faith cases.

Continue Reading Why Do Republican Leaders Refuse to Listen To Complaints From Those Harmed By Insurance Companies?

An editorial to the Palm Beach Post asked the title question of this post. The answer seemed very obvious when it noted:1

‘[I]nsurance companies, executives and agents have donated at least $74 million to Florida politicians or business groups.’ The top recipient: Gov. Ron DeSantis, pulling in $3.3 million. And there’s this gem: Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, has raked in nearly $2 million — from the industry he’s supposed to regulate.

Continue Reading Why Are Florida Republican Leaders Rigging the Legal System to Favor Insurance Companies and Prevent Redress For Bad Faith Actions?

The Florida Republican leadership is in bed with the insurance industry. Republican Donald Trump said so yesterday, as noted in yesterday’s post, Donald Trump and Chip Merlin Agree—Ron DeSantis and Florida Republican Leadership Has Sold Out to Insurance Company Lobbyists. An example of this is Florida’s public records of consumer complaints about public adjusters versus complaints about insurance companies. 

Continue Reading Florida Public Records Disclosures Prove Insurance Companies Are Mistreating Policyholders—What About Making Laws Allowing Consumers To Do Something About It?

The Tampa Bay Times and other news media reported on an apparent message by former President Donald Trump, which states the following:

Continue Reading Donald Trump and Chip Merlin Agree—Ron DeSantis and Florida Republican Leadership Have Sold Out to Insurance Company Lobbyists

I hate when insurers are accused of acting in “bad faith.” Most people who say that have no idea what they are saying or writing. They are just upset with the results of an insurer investigation. It is the failure to act in the utmost of good faith and fair dealing which historically subjects an insurer to extra-contractual damages. It does not mean that the insurer was “evil” or “bad.”  The law did a disservice to consumers when it called these actions “bad faith” causes of action. 

Continue Reading Does the Lack of Good Faith Mean the Insurer Was Bad and With Evil Intent? Indiana Case Suggests It Does