Florida does not recognize a first-party bad faith cause of action at common law. Instead, it has a statutory scheme where a formal notice (CRN) must be sent that provides the specific statutory provisions which are violated, the relevant policy language relevant to violations, and the facts giving rise to the violations. Then, the insurance company gets 60 days to cure the defects of its actions.
Continue Reading Florida’s Bad Faith Scheme Requires a 60 Day Notice Including Facts
A Florida public adjuster called and asked if a Hurricane Ian national flood insurance proof of loss had to be filed within 60 days. That answer is “no,” as explained in Hurricane Ian Flood Proof of Loss Deadline Extended. FEMA extended the deadline for 365 days.
Continue Reading Public Adjusters May Have One Year To Submit Hurricane Ian Federal Flood Claims Proofs of Loss But Still Have To Make Written Estimates Within 60 Days
The Florida Bar has taken a very proactive stance regarding wrongful solicitation of Hurricane Ian and Nicole policyholders. The Florida Bar filed an emergency Petition today for suspension of a Florida attorney working for an out of state law firm. The Petition alleges, among other items, deception in the solicitation of Hurricane Ian claimants:
Continue Reading Florida Bar Acts Against Wrongful Solicitation—Claimants Should Hire Reputable Attorneys With Credentials
Florida’s 25% roofing rule is gone. The insurance lobby convinced Florida legislators to stop following good roofing construction practices this past summer. The newly passed legislation in Florida’s special session may allow insurance companies to patch rather than replace significant portions of your hurricane-damaged roof. Previously, if a roof was damaged more than 25%, it had to be replaced.
Continue Reading Roof Damage From Hurricane Ian? Understand Florida’s New Roofing Law
Earlier this year, I wrote about the ongoing saga that is the Florida property insurance legislative reform efforts in a blog post titled: Florida Insurers Continued Use of “Fraud” as a Red Herring in Their Legislative Agenda.
Continue Reading Florida’s New Property Insurance Reform Tackles Fraud, But Only One Side
A fascinating article written by Jason Garcia is worth a few minutes of your time. I supported efforts to have admitted Florida insurers to tap into Florida’s Catastrophe Fund. I could not understand why that legislation went nowhere until I read Garcia’s article.
Continue Reading Did Big Insurance Lobby Keep Florida’s Property Insurance Rates High?
During the upcoming special session of the Legislature, will Florida legislators be asked to pass laws that will violate standard mortgage requirements?
Continue Reading Upcoming Special Session of the Florida Legislature – How Legislation Could Affect You and Your Mortgage
For those who follow the news regarding Florida’s insurance market, the people of the Sunshine State are being warned as property insurance premiums are steadily increasing. To fix what is being labeled as a “broken” system, the Florida Senate continues to push for property insurance reform with the latest proposed bill, SB 1728, which is designed to allow insurers to sell policies that only pay either the depreciated value of the roof or its actual cash value. What this means is that while Florida policyholders might get the semblance of a slight premium decrease, they conversely will be the ones who will be forced to pay most, if not the entire, cost of a new roof in the event of a loss outside of a named hurricane.
Continue Reading Florida Insurers Continued Use of “Fraud” as a Red Herring in Their Legislative Agenda
A question that has been on the minds of numerous public adjusters throughout the state of Florida is, “Can I prepare and submit a Notice of Intent to Litigate?” Is doing so the unlicensed practice of law?
Continue Reading Does a Public Adjuster Commit the Unlicensed Practice of Law by Filing a Notice of Intent to Litigate?
This three-part series of blog posts intends to shed light on the expedited legislative process that culminated in a hodgepodge law, Florida Statute § 627.70152.
Continue Reading Florida Statute § 627.70152: Part 1 – A Rushed Mess