An overwhelming number of claims are settled on a mutual understanding with respect to the covered loss and the amount necessary to indemnify the policyholder. The question is then: What can a policyholder do if the insurance company is taking an unreasonable amount of time to tender settlement payment. Florida law remains focused on strong … Continue Reading
The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters held its mid-year meeting last week and the topic of assignment of benefits, commonly referred to as AOB’s, was on the agenda. Lisa Miller, an insurance lobbyist and regulator I have come across for over twenty-five years was the speaker on the topic.… Continue Reading
At Merlin Law Group, we want policyholders to have the tools necessary to maximize recovery following a loss. Understanding when policyholders are entitled to statutory interest and knowing how to calculate it is a small trick of the trade in the property insurance industry.… Continue Reading
The appraisal alternative dispute resolution procedure in most first-party property insurance policies in Florida is a valuable process for insureds. In our experience at Merlin Law Group, few states in the country have a greater need for an understandable, enforceable appraisal process than Florida. Since at least Hurricane Andrew in 1992, policyholders and insurers have … Continue Reading
House Bill 911, effective January 1, 2018, was filed by Representative Sean Shaw and enacted by the Florida Legislature to amend Fla. Stat. § 626.854, which protects policyholders through the regulation of public adjusters. Chip Merlin discussed this new law in detail in his post on July 2, 2017. In requiring public adjusters to be … Continue Reading
September 10, 2018, marked the one-year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Irma in Florida. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the estimate of the damage caused by Hurricane Irma is $50,000,000,000.1 Well over a year since its devastation across the state, Floridians remain resilient and committed to rebuild their lives.… Continue Reading
Sean Shaw will be a great Florida Attorney General. The Miami Herald endorsed Sean this week and noted some of the reasons why he can help so many and change the status quo as Florida’s Attorney General.… Continue Reading
In December of last year, my colleague Ashley Harris discussed Security First Insurance Co. v. Florida Office of Insurance Regulation,1 where the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal (Fifth DCA) upheld the Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”) prohibition of proposed language in an insurance policy that would require “all insureds, all additional insureds and all … Continue Reading
In Florida, the short answer is “no.” Here, as in most states, traditional rules governing breach of contract apply to insurance policies, and in a proper case consequential damages may be awarded.1 Defense lawyers in first party insurance cases always dispute this argument.… Continue Reading
Nearly every homeowner’s insurance policy issued in Florida provides a mechanism for resolving disputes between the insured and their carrier as to the amount of a loss: Appraisal.… Continue Reading
When homeowners discover a plumbing issue in their home, there are usually several things running through their minds: investigating the source of the leak, stopping and fixing the problem, and drying as much of the water as possible. One thing that can be easily overlooked, especially by insureds who have never experienced a plumbing leak … Continue Reading
Recently, the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal of a class action against Omega Insurance Company in which the policyholders asserted that Omega improperly required them to pay a deductible when Omega invoked its right to repair the property.… Continue Reading
It has been over 30 years since Florida lawmakers enacted section 624.155, which was designed to provide a civil remedy when an insurer fails to settle their policyholder’s claim in good faith or commits any one of the unfair claims handling practices identified in section 626.9541(1)(i). Yet, to this day, questions still arise on one … Continue Reading
A handful of bills regarding proposed statutes concerning assignment of property insurance benefits were withdrawn from both houses of the Florida legislature this month. Each of the proposed laws were directed toward assignments entered into by property owners in exchange for the agreement of the assignee — typically a contractor — to complete the associated … Continue Reading
Many property insurance policies have a provision that states something similar to the following: “we do not insure…for loss…caused by…constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water…over a period of 14 or more days.” Insureds may find their claims for water loss under their homeowners’ policy denied on the grounds that the leak was present … Continue Reading
Back on November 7 of last year (2017), I wrote about an important opinion in the world of property insurance litigation, Joyce v. Federated National Insurance Company,1 where the Florida Supreme Court reaffirmed that you could still obtain a contingency-fee multiplier where justified under Quanstrom and in so doing reversed the Fifth District Court of … Continue Reading
In December of 2016, I wrote about Sebo v. American Home Assurance Company,1 where the Florida Supreme Court reversed the appellate court’s adoption of the “Proximate Efficient Cause” doctrine and found that instead, the lower court should have applied the “Concurrent Causation Doctrine,” as laid out in Wallach v. Rosenberg,2 in a situation where both … Continue Reading
Sean Shaw is a practicing attorney resolving legal issues for people and it is only fitting that he is running to become Florida’s Attorney General. Do you want an honest person that sees both sides of the aisle, wants to seek practical resolutions, and still rise up against obvious wrong? Sean Shaw is your candidate.… Continue Reading
I hope each and every one of you are in the midst of a wonderful holiday season! I am writing this blog from a food court in Toronto, Canada. While I am on a vacation to see family, the weather is making me rethink my life choices. It is currently 19 degrees. This Floridian is … Continue Reading
A few days ago, I sent my video about Florida Consumer Complaints to an adjuster with a client who could not find the Florida Department of Financial Services Consumer Complaint information.… Continue Reading
In 1990, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners adopted a new section to its model regulations relating to unfair property claims.1 Section 9 of the model regulation provides:2 A. When the policy provides for the adjustment and settlement of first-party losses based on replacement cost, the following shall apply: *** (2) When a loss requires … Continue Reading
We recently received a requested blog topic for the following: FL Value Policy Law as it would apply with Hurricane Irma. If we have an insured with a Citizens policy with Cov A limit of $200,000 and our repair estimate is $180,000 should the value policy law be applied? Answer: It depends. (I’m a lawyer, … Continue Reading
Florida’s Third District of Appeal recently confirmed that insurance carriers are initially obligated to pay the true amount of the actual cash value (“ACV”), not just the insurance company’s estimate of the ACV.1 This obligation exists regardless of whether policyholders intend to use the money to make repairs to their home. The court also confirmed … Continue Reading
I was sent an article last night with the headline, Sean Shaw for Attorney General? The article correctly noted that Sean is an insurance attorney with the Merlin Law Group. It may also be correct that some unknown people are asking this question for unknown reasons.… Continue Reading
