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In May of 2019, a decision made by a panel of Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeals sparked an important debate that could have consequences for policyholders and their insurers throughout the state of Florida. The Florida Supreme Court will soon end that debate, and its decision could impact how attorneys choose to approach advocating for policyholders when delays in payment directly result in lost income for insureds.…
Continue Reading Consequential and Foreseeable Damages: Recovery of Lost Rent Directly Attributable to the Insurer’s Breach of Contract

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether foreseeable consequential damages are recoverable when an insurer breaches its contract on Tuesday.1 Law360 is a great publication to keep abreast of the newest legal issues involving insurance and this is how it described the upcoming case:1…
Continue Reading Are Foreseeable Consequential Damages for Breach of a Property Insurance Contract Recoverable?

In a previous post, I discussed whether an insured can file a Civil Remedy Notice before coverage and liability are established and discussed Florida’s three requirements for bringing a bad-faith claim.1 In this post, I will go back to a fundamental question the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit certified to the Florida Supreme Court years ago. Under section 624.155(1)(b)(1), can an insured’s bad-faith claim accrue before the conclusion of the underlying litigation?2 The Florida Supreme Court answered in the negative.3…
Continue Reading Should an insured bring an action for bad-faith at the same time as the breach-of-contract action?

Have you ever asked somebody if they can see “the handwriting on the wall?”1 You do not need to be a legal eagle to anticipate the probable outcome of this blog’s title question while reading the lower Florida appellate court’s ruling2 and how it phrased the certified question to the Florida Supreme Court:…
Continue Reading Can the Public Adjuster on a Contingent Fee Act As the Appraiser?

My New York colleague, Jonathan Wilkofsky, not long ago wrote a third edition to his book about appraisal, The Law and Procedure of Insurance Appraisal. If the appraisal cases in Florida and Colorado keep up at their frantic pace of publication, he is certainly going to have a fourth edition in the near future. A recent Florida case concerned the common issue of whether appraisal is appropriate to determine whether a roof can be repaired with matching shingles.1…
Continue Reading Is Appraisal Appropriate to Determine If the Policyholder Is Entitled to Matching Shingles or a New Roof Replacement?

Pursuant to section 624.155(3)(a) of the Florida Statutes, an insured has a right to file a bad-faith cause of action if his or her carrier violates enumerated statutory provisions.1 Before filing such an action, however, the insured must meet three requirements:

1 There must be a determination of the insurer’s liability for coverage.

2 There must be a determination of the extent of the insured’s damages.

3 The insured must provide notice to the carrier by filing a Civil Remedy Notice (“CRN”) with Florida’s Department of Financial Services.2

Before the determination of liability and coverage, can an insured file a CRN?…
Continue Reading Can You File a Civil Remedy Notice Before Coverage and Liability Are Established?

The purpose of a Civil Remedy Notice (“Notice”) is to provide an insurance company with a final opportunity to comply with its good-faith claim handling obligations and fix previous wrongdoings.1 Once a property owner files a Notice, the insurance company has a sixty-day window to fix the alleged wrongdoings to avoid “bad-faith” litigation.2 However, when an insurance company commits multiple wrongdoings, it may be necessary for an insured to file multiple Notices.…
Continue Reading What Is the Effect of Filing Multiple Civil Remedy Notices in a Single Claim?