California summers can get hot. To protect workers, the state requires employers to take extensive precautions. California’s regulations on heat safety are promulgated by the Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety, which is often referred to as Cal/OSHA. Continue Reading Feeling the Heat: Do California’s Health and Safety Regulations Increase the Value of Your Insurance Claim?
The Owner Steals the Boat—Can a Claim Be Made?
Continuing with my study regarding Hawaiian property insurance law while racing toward Honolulu, an unusual case is worthy of discussion.1 It is not often that a claim is made on a boat that is stolen by the legal owner. But Hawaii is an unusual place.
Continue Reading The Owner Steals the Boat—Can a Claim Be Made?
Oklahoma Insurance Department’s 2022 Year in Review
The Oklahoma Insurance Department has released its 2022 Annual Report. Every year, the OID compiles a report summarizing the required financial disclosures of insurers in the state, highlighting new legislation, and breaking down certain regulatory activity taken by the department (although information about market conduct exams is noticeably missing). Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the more interesting information and statistics from last year:
Continue Reading Oklahoma Insurance Department’s 2022 Year in Review
Wrongful Claims Practice Regulation Is Ineffective, and Why Florida’s New Market Conduct Examination Laws Mean Nothing
The Florida legislature recently passed a sweeping property insurance bill that severely limited the ability of policyholders to sue their own insurance companies for wrongful claims conduct and took away a 100-year-old law requiring the losing insurance company to pay the policyholder’s attorney fees. To put lipstick on this pig of legislation, the legislature added language allegedly making it easier for the insurance commissioner to request a Market Conduct Examination of a property insurance company’s claims practices. While some policyholders may think this helps, the insurance industry knows that market claims examinations have little impact on curbing significant wrongful claims practices.
Continue Reading Wrongful Claims Practice Regulation Is Ineffective, and Why Florida’s New Market Conduct Examination Laws Mean Nothing
Emotional and Mental Health Recovery Following Hurricane Ian
This post will be one of several posts about an often overlooked aspect of hurricane disasters—the emotional and mental health of everybody involved with the hurricane. I strongly encourage readers to visit this important topic in, The Emotional Toll of Hurricanes, where I remarked: Continue Reading Emotional and Mental Health Recovery Following Hurricane Ian
Insurers Are Invited to Nitpick, Delay, and Underpay Claims If Consumers Have No Ability to Enforce Good Faith Obligations
United Policyholders recently issued an important press release, Whistleblower Sounds Alarm On Unfair Insurance Practices: Oregon Consumers Need Stronger Legal Protections. While the entirety of the press release is important, one particular sentence stood out:
As Oregon law stands today, it is not financially feasible for an average citizen or small business to retain a lawyer and undertake a lawsuit to challenge unfair treatment by an insurance company. Continue Reading Insurers Are Invited to Nitpick, Delay, and Underpay Claims If Consumers Have No Ability to Enforce Good Faith Obligations
The Revolving Door Connecting Insurance Regulators with the Supposedly Regulated Insurance Industry
Yesterday’s post, Will Citizens Property Insurance Disputes Be Handled By Government Administrative Judges?, ended with the hope that Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation would respond to Citizens request for an endorsement by looking out of policyholder interests. In a comment to the blog post, Mike Cappelli commented by saying that Florida’s OIR was a “rubber stamp.” Continue Reading The Revolving Door Connecting Insurance Regulators with the Supposedly Regulated Insurance Industry
Restoration Contractors Claim New Florida Property Insurance Laws Unconstitutional
Restoration Association of Florida (RAF) and a restoration contractor did not let Florida Governor DeSantis’ ink dry before filing a lawsuit seeking to quash the new property insurance legislation. RAF recently filed a lawsuit against Florida’s Insurance Commissioner, as noted in last month’s post, Restoration Association Accuses Florida Insurance Commissioner of Unconstitutional Conduct. Continue Reading Restoration Contractors Claim New Florida Property Insurance Laws Unconstitutional
Are Insurance Companies Doing Enough To Safeguard Adjusters and Policyholders Following Fire Losses?
The Rocky Mountain Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (RMAPIA) is holding a Spring meeting where I will discuss Safety and Valuation Issues Following Wildfire Losses. An article, Fire Investigator Health and Safety Best Practices,1 should be read by all adjusters and claims managers. While fire investigators will often be at the fire scene before adjusters and policyholders are allowed, most of the health dangers from a fire are still present for adjusters and policyholders after the fire. Continue Reading Are Insurance Companies Doing Enough To Safeguard Adjusters and Policyholders Following Fire Losses?
Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway Continues Efforts to Help and Assist Policyholders Impacted by the Marshall Fire
The desire to compensate shareholders creates a direct conflict of interest between insurance carriers and their policyholders. As a result, most jurisdictions, including Colorado, have enacted laws to protect their consumers and hold insurance carriers accountable to their promise to timely pay and to fully indemnify policyholders. States have also enacted laws allowing licensed adjusters to work directly for consumers to assist in ensuring recovery of all benefits that may be owed under a first-party property insurance policy. These adjusters are called “public adjusters.” These public adjusters are licensed and regulated by the State of Colorado. In Colorado, the leading public adjusting organization is the Rocky Mountain Association of Public Insurance Adjusters. Continue Reading Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway Continues Efforts to Help and Assist Policyholders Impacted by the Marshall Fire