It can be difficult after a fire for an insured to remember with 100% certainty what personal property they had in their home. Most likely, receipts and other purchase records have also been destroyed. As such, public adjusters in preparing estimates and/or proofs of loss are typically left to rely upon the insured’s memory. After … Continue Reading
The answer to the above question came, in part, on June 28, 2019, with the issuance of twin Texas Supreme Court opinions: Barbara Technologies Corporation v. State Farm Lloyds,1 and Ortiz v. State Farm Lloyds.2 The specific issue in these two decisions was what effect did an insurer’s full and timely payment of an appraisal … Continue Reading
Judges should be aware of the extreme and aberrant arguments being made by a few insurance company lawyers about physical damage requiring damage to be “functional” damage. These lawyers argue that property insurance policies contemplate this “functional damage” requirement.… Continue Reading
Merlin Law Group cares about insurance consumers’ interests. Insurance company lawyers only care about their profits and profits for their insurers. I mentioned in David Berardinelli Was a Policyholder Advocate, that I would be completing a book with ForbesBooks about insurance policyholders and this book, Payup!, is about to be published this November.… Continue Reading
Ian Dankelman is a former federal judicial law clerk who is a fantastic attorney at Merlin Law Group. We were talking about how our firm could hire other judicial law clerks who want to help people and small businesses fighting insurance companies. He said that he received—and then showed me a letter from—an insurance defense … Continue Reading
Death of a named insured and probate proceedings have insurance policy consequences. Insurance agents, probate attorneys, and personal representatives have to prepare to purchase or change policies so the correct parties are insured following death and probate.… Continue Reading
In a recent case,1 a federal appeals court addressed the issue of whether fire damage to a vacant dwelling from an arsonist was considered distinct from vandalism, so as to not implicate an exclusion within a homeowners insurance policy. In that case, Wells Fargo Bank owned an insurance policy on an abandoned house that an … Continue Reading
I currently have an hour and forty-five minute commute (until my house sells and I can move closer to the office). As you can imagine, listening to the same songs on the radio over and over can get old after a while. Thankfully, Mike Buonocore from our Red Bank office introduced me to the world … Continue Reading
Many insurance companies thought they would have to pay no more than $5,000 for each California wildfire claim but are ending up paying hundreds of thousands if not millions.… Continue Reading
Steve Patrick is a guru for those estimating property insurance losses. He made a suggestion on Level The Playing Field, for a construction book, Markup & Profit: A Contractor’s Guide, Revisited. His suggestion caught my eye since Merlin Law Group keeps this work in our reference library. This book is an excellent reference which contractors, property loss … Continue Reading
In my last blog post, I wrote about the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Windridge of Naperville Condominium Association v. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company.1… Continue Reading
Hurricane Katrina was a huge warning to me about the problem of underinsured homes. We represented hundreds of “slabbed” homes—those where the only thing left was a concrete slab. Virtually all of them were severely underinsured. Some may suggest that this is the most widespread coverage gap.… Continue Reading
Lila Gross is a feature reporter who interviewed me regarding insurance needs for hurricane coverage after Hurricane Dorian barely missed us. Here are the various segments of this story:… Continue Reading
With Hurricane Dorian causing flooding on the east coast as we speak the question, I often get asked is: when can I sue my flood insurer for a violation of state law? Recently the Corpus Christi Division of the Southern District of Texas addressed the question.… Continue Reading
A few days ago, a family member called to ask me if I was interested in adopting a stray kitten. Hmmm… I had to think about this offer. I have “owned” cats over the years. But cats are quirky. Perhaps that is why memes and videos of domestic cats make up some of the most … Continue Reading
Dewey Hill owned eight townhome buildings in Minnesota insured by Auto-Owners.1 On August 16, 2013, a hail and windstorm damaged the buildings. Three days later, Dewey Hill notified Auto-Owners of the loss and submitted written property loss notices ten days later. Auto-Owners investigated the claim and approximately nine months later issued its first payment to … Continue Reading
A recent Southern District of Florida decision addressed this issue.1 A property in Islamorada, Florida, which was owned by the estate of Raymond K. Hampson, was damaged by Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The personal representative for the estate, Timothy R. Hampson (“Hampson”) made a claim for damages under the standard flood insurance policy (“SFIP”) … Continue Reading
Brian Malone is a dear friend and a Bahamian whose immediate family is about to have a horrific experience caused by Hurricane Dorian. Brian’s parents and relatives live in Hope Town on the Abaco Islands which is part of the Bahamas. Category 4 and 5 hurricanes are terrible freaks of nature, but living through 24 … Continue Reading
One of the most bizarre hurricane stories ever told to me was from a client’s son in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. While holding on for his life in flood waters, a chihuahua came floating by him on a surfboard. I just have a hard time imagining that but look at the photo … Continue Reading
Note: This guest post is by David Thompson, CPCU, AAI, API, CRIS, an instructor at the Florida Association of Insurance Agents for over 23 years. Prior to that he worked in a family-owned insurance agency for over ten years. He was a commissioned officer in the United States Army and the United States Coast Guard … Continue Reading
The time is now to button up those flood claims. The deadline for submission of the sworn statement of a Hurricane Michael flood loss, known as the Proof of Loss (‘POL”), is 365 days from the date of loss,1 which is October 10, 2019, for those in the Panhandle of Florida. The POL is the … Continue Reading
One of the strongest worded notices to insurance companies to pay promptly and do whatever it takes to help policyholders following a disaster came from Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier in a December 19, 2018 memorandum entitled Hurricane Michael Claims Response.… Continue Reading
“Not with Hurricane Michael claims” is the answer to these questions being screamed by policyholders, contractors and public adjusters. The blog title and questions were plucked from CJW’s website which also says most adjusters have a difficult time making accurate estimates but CJW does not because their adjusters “work ‘round the clock” to make accurate … Continue Reading
Chip Merlin frequently stresses the importance of reading the whole insurance policy when determining whether there is coverage for the relevant property damage. The failure to do so was highlighted in a recent case,1 where a Pennsylvania federal court stated it could not ignore the specific terms of an insurance policy merely because the insured … Continue Reading
