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
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Pennsylvania has followed five other states to propose legislation eradicating the “virus” exclusion for small businesses having commercial business income policies. Insurance company lobbyists are fighting this legislation in numerous ways. One is the argument that such legislation, if passed, would be unconstitutional.
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Insurance companies historically rarely invoked their right to repair a structure. They often did so with jewelry losses because damaged or lost jewelry could much more easily be copied or repaired. Few structural repairs are ever done correctly or to the satisfaction of a property owner. Indeed, the annals of construction history are full of litigation between contractors and upset property owners. So, why are modern insurance carriers invoking the right to repair?
Answer—Leverage to reduce the claim amount.
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This past weekend I was asked the question above. This is what I found in Louisiana. On March 26, 2020, by Proclamation No. JBE 2020-37, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards transferred certain insurance matters to Commissioner of Insurance James J. Donelon. Commissioner Donelon quickly instituted reasonable emergency measures to address the growing concerns of Louisiana’s residents through Emergency Rule 40 – Moratorium on Policy Cancellations and Non-Renewals for Policyholders in Louisiana during the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) (“Rule 40”).1
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On March 30, 2020, the United State Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in Mitchell v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company,1 on the interpretation of the term “Actual Cash Value.”
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Merlin Law Group attorney Ed Eshoo wrote another stellar post yesterday, The Impact of Coronavirus on the Replacement Condition, which incorporated a discussion of the Standard Fire Policy. Eshoo is a guru when it comes to standard fire policy law and all of us at Merlin Law Group are lucky to have him as a colleague.
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The impact of the coronavirus virus on business interruption insurance coverage is a hotly debated topic. But other property insurance coverages may be impacted by this global pandemic as well. Many property insurance policies require actual repair/replacement of damaged/destroyed property to be completed within a certain time period in order to receive replacement cost benefits. Given the “stay-at-home” orders issued in many states, including here in Illinois, it may not be possible to meet the replacement condition within the requisite timeframe.
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The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) has sent a notice to each Department of Insurance requesting that claims deadlines be extended as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
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La Gobernadora de Puerto Rico decretó una Orden de Cierre el pasado 16 de marzo de 2020, como medida de prevención para evitar contagios por el Coronavirus. Muchos negocios y empresas público/ privadas con excepción de aquellas ya señalados por la Gobernadora se verán afectadas.
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The Governor of Puerto Rico decreed a “Closure Order” or lockdown beginning on March 16, 2020, as a preventive measure to avoid contagions by the coronavirus. Many businesses and public/private companies, with the exception of those already indicated by the Governor, will be affected.
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