Bob Norton of the Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association (IAUA) loves to play with the audience with the types of questions found in the title of this post. Bob will ask for a show of hands about how many say “yes” or “no.” Then pause and ask, how many say the answer is “it depends.” Then he will ask the people who raised their hands, saying, “It depends,” why they gave that answer. It is a fun and effective learning exercise for many issues which arise during appraisals. 

Continue Reading Is Appraisal Limited to a Dispute About the Value of Agreed Damage? What Is the Rule In Alabama?

One topic that has been written about multiple times on our blog involves the implications of selling the home or property during the course of an insurance claim. Notable posts include Things To Consider When Selling Property With An Open Insurance Claim, and Recovering Replacement Cost After Selling Unrepaired Property, by attorneys Kyle Bugden and Ashley Harris, respectively. Due to the real estate landscape in today’s market, it has again become a consistent topic of conversation. Continue Reading Can you Recover the Cost of Repairs from the Insurance Company after Selling your Home?

Causation can be determined by an appraisal panel in Minnesota. The controversy involved a hailstorm where the insurance company denied that any damage was caused by the hailstorm. The insurance company refused to go to appraisal and filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration of no coverage. The policyholder countersued seeking the court to compel appraisal to determine the amount of damage caused by the hailstorm. Continue Reading Causation Can Be Determined in Minnesota Appraisals

Merlin Law Group attorneys Jon Bukowski, Larry Bache, Corey Harris, and Ashley Harris won a before the Federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which held today that causation can be determined in Colorado appraisals.

I would like to give special recognition to Shane Smith who helped write the briefs and contributed to this win.

You can find the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion here.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen deserves a big shout out for issuing a Bulletin on July 26 warning policyholders of the impending statute of limitations for a derecho that struck Iowa on August 10, 2020. He is calling on insurance companies to be liberal granting extensions to file lawsuits and warning derecho claimants to file suit or get an extension before August 10—next week! This Bulletin provides: Continue Reading Iowa Derecho Statute of Limitations Quickly Approaching—Policyholders, Public Insurance Adjusters, and Contractors Beware!