Merlin Law Group attorney Etienne Font lives in Tennessee and Jeff Carter still works and has significant family relationships in Nashville. We were talking about tornado destruction, which has such little warning and is one of the most terrifying weather events for those in the path. Now, the cleanup and insurance recovery begins.
Interestingly, Tennessee has no insurance company adjuster licensing requirement but does require public insurance adjusters to be licensed. United Policyholders picked up the fact that Tennessee policyholders may face untrained and unqualified insurance company and independent adjusters with the following comment:
In Tennessee, insurance company adjusters are not licensed, and are not required to have any training, believe it or not.
Tennessee policyholders may want to keep that in mind while deciding to hire a public adjuster.
We have noted that while Tennessee has an Unfair Claims Settlement Act, it does not provide a private remedy in, Claims Handling Requirements By State—Tennessee.
Policies can have a shortened period to file suit as we noted in, Insurance Policy Language Which Shortens The Tennessee Statute of Limitations.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance has a number of claims related regulations which should be reviewed. For example:
1) When the policy provides for the adjustment and settlement of first party losses based on replacement cost, the following shall apply:
(a) When a loss requires repair or replacement of an item or part, any consequential physical damage incurred in making such repair or replacement not otherwise excluded by the policy, shall be included in the loss. The insured shall not have to pay for any cost except for betterment and any applicable deductible under the policy.
(b) When a loss requires replacement of items and the replaced items do not match in quality, color or size, the insurer shall replace items so as to conform to a reasonably uniform appearance according to the applicable policy provisions. This applies to interior and exterior losses. The insured shall not bear any cost over the applicable deductible, if any.
(2) Actual Cash Value:
(a)When the insurance policy provides for the adjustment and settlement of losses on an actual cash value basis on residential fire and extended coverage, the insurer shall determine actual cash value as follows: replacement cost of property at time of loss less depreciation, if any. Upon the insured’s request, the insurer shall provide a copy of the claim file worksheets detailing any and all deductions for depreciation.
(b) In cases in which the insured’s interest is limited because the property has nominal or no economic value, or a value disproportionate to replacement cost less depreciation, the determination of actual cash value as set forth above is not required. In such cases, the insurer shall provide, upon the insured’s request, a written explanation of the basis for limiting the amount of recovery along with the amount payable under the policy.
As we recently noted in, Can Labor Be Depreciated When Considering Actual Cash Value, labor cannot be depreciated in Tennessee.
God bless all those suffering and good luck with your insurance recovery.
Thought For The Day
There is a safe spot within every tornado. My job is to find it.
—David Copperfield