“MAPFRE is not paying property insurance claims and is threatening the safety of Puerto Ricans,” was the message public adjuster Jack Hanks noted in a CBS news report. Jack Hanks and David Skipton held a seminar in Tampa earlier this spring for public adjusters just starting out in the public adjusting business. Hanks is an excellent speaker and educator as one can tell from the news story. Continue Reading CBS News Report—Public Adjuster Calls Out MAPFRE For Not Paying Puerto Rico Hurricane Claims

The Big I calls the “where you reside” language found in ISO standard language the “catastrophic homeowners policy exclusion.”1 On its website, it states: Continue Reading “Residence Premises” and “Where You Reside” Insurance Coverage Gaps—The Killer Exclusion That Is Not Listed As An Exclusion: Part Two

A number of questions posed by coverage practitioners recently spiked about residency requirements found in the vast majority of standard homeowners forms. The spike and questions were the result of a particular Order denying a summary judgement.1 The case is still pending in Florida with trial set August 2, 2021. While that case is relatively new, the policy language which acts as a killer exclusion causing a hidden insurance coverage gap has been a topic of great controversy in the insurance industry for well over a decade. An article was published in an agents’ education journal twenty years ago about the “where you reside” wording found in homeowners insurance policies. Continue Reading “Residence Premises” and “Where You Reside” Insurance Coverage Gaps—The Killer Exclusion That Is Not Listed As An Exclusion: Part One

Rocco Calaci is presenting a very scientific discussion on severe weather in a webinar at 11 am ET today. While I am fortunate to work with a number of very highly qualified meteorologists throughout the United States, I once wrote an article asking, Rocco Calaci – Is Rocco the Best Meteorologist?. I noted in that article: Continue Reading Meteorology Is Important When Determining Cause of Damage in High Wind and Hail Damage Events

Great American Insurance Company attorney Bill Wilson of the Mound Cotton law firm announced at a hearing in the Champlain Towers South Case that the insurer would tender its full policy limits and pay additional coverages totaling more than 30 million dollars. The catastrophe was on June 24 and the claims decision was announced only 22 days after the occurrence. While I have often criticized insurance claims executives for taking too long to investigate and come to a claims determination, Great American deserves a Bravo and resounding accolades for putting this claims determination to rest. Continue Reading Great American Agrees to Pay Champlain Towers South Property Insurance Claim and More to Be Discussed on Tuesday @2 with Chip Merlin

The recent catastrophe at the Champlain Towers South has raised questions regarding condominium unit owners HO6 Coverage and various inquiries regarding loss assessment coverage. Last week, I published a post in the Merlin Law Group Condominium Insurance Law Blog, Condominium Owners Purchasing Insurance Beware! Buy The Right HO6 Policy From a Qualified Agent, suggesting that HO6 polices have numerous options through endorsements which can broaden the amount of HO6 found in the basic and cheap form of coverage many agents sell. Continue Reading Loss Assessment Coverage Under the HO6 Condominium Policy

(Note: This guest blog is by Liberty Ritchie, a Licensed Legal Intern in our Oklahoma City office)

The Arizona Department of Insurance (ADI) “helps insurance consumers resolve disputes that are within the Department’s jurisdiction, and…investigate apparent violations of Arizona law.”1 Specifically, the Investigations Division of the ADI investigates consumer complaints of wrongdoing by insurance companies, agencies, and agents, and the Market Oversight Division more broadly examines companies’ marketing and claim settlement practices. If you think that your claim has been delayed, unfairly denied, or otherwise poorly handled, you can file a complaint with the ADI requesting an investigation. Continue Reading How to File a Complaint with the Arizona Department of Insurance

As a Merlin Law Group Texas attorney, I have the distinct privilege of working directly with Rene Sigman, the Regional Litigation Manager running the firm’s Texas operation. As a mentor, Rene has gone above and beyond to show me the complex ropes for handling first-party property insurance cases in Texas. Rene’s unparalleled work ethic coupled with her passion for our clients’ best interest was more than apparent recently when we recovered multiple favorable settlements for commercial and residential policyholders. During this time, we noticed something interesting about one of the insured’s contracts with her public adjuster. The contract was incomplete and did not comply with the Texas Administrative Code, which governs public insurance adjuster contracts. Continue Reading Texas Public Insurance Adjuster Contract Requirements

Michael Cassel forwarded the above letter from Citizens Property Insurance Company which accepts the position that Florida’s new pre-suit notice requirements do not apply to policies issued before July 1, 2021. There is previous case precedent that supports this position and Citizens is not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. Continue Reading Citizens Agrees That Florida’s New Pre-Suit Notice Requirements Does Not Apply to Policies Issued Before the Effective Date of the Statute