Assignment of benefits contracts for property damage claims may be going the way of the dinosaur in Florida. A recent Florida Insurance Bulletin notes that the new statute allows insurance companies to issue policies preventing an assignment of benefits if insurers offer a premium discount.… Continue Reading
The best insurance lawyers are students of the insurance industry rather than just students of insurance law. I learned this truth from insurance claims expert Gary Fye and the late Eugene Anderson. Let me paraphrase what Anderson used to tell me, ‘for the same reason doctors don’t learn medicine by reading medical malpractice case law, … Continue Reading
Mike Duffy, Ed Eshoo, and Christina Phillips head up Merlin Law Group’s Chicago office. As far as I am concerned, they are the best insurance lawyers in Chicago, and we are very lucky to have them hitching their stars to the Merlin Law Group wagon.… Continue Reading
Excess insurance policies are often written to follow form, but then an excess carrier may issue a policy that does not follow the bid upon form. Insurance agents and excess lines brokers can certainly do a much better job at the point of sale by reading the policies they sell and broker so the insurance … Continue Reading
It is important for policyholders to know and understand the steps they must complete before filing a complaint when an insurance claim has been delayed, denied and bad treated by an insurance company. As mentioned in a previous post, (please see my blog on this topic published on December 5, 2018: Puerto Rico Approves Amendments … Continue Reading
Hurricane season 2019 is officially underway, and so now is the time to take action and prepare before a possible hurricane threat. It’s imperative that policyholders understand the coverage and rights provided under their insurance policy. Therefore, one of the first things a policyholder should do is request a copy of their insurance policy now … Continue Reading
Ha iniciado la nueva temporada de Huracanes 2019, y son muchos los preparativos que debemos llevar acabo ante la posible amenaza de un huracán. Es imperativo que los asegurados entiendan la cobertura y los derechos bajo su Póliza de Seguros. En primer lugar, cada asegurado debe solicitar una copia de su póliza de seguros y … Continue Reading
The San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association is the largest and oldest Association of consumer attorneys in the San Francisco Bay area. Every year they honor a member as the Trial Lawyer of The Year, the Judge of The Year, and a New Lawyer of the Year. The Association’s past presidents include some of the best … Continue Reading
A recent Florida 4th District Court of Appeal decision, Bryant v. Geovera Specialty Insurance Company,1 addressed the issue of whether an insurance carrier’s payment of an appraisal award above a sublimit constituted a “confession of judgment.”… Continue Reading
Victor Jacobellis left his job in San Francisco representing insurance companies to join Merlin Law Group and help policyholders obtain insurance coverage benefits. He asked me to speak with him about exceptions to exclusions of coverage which are often overlooked and lead to wrongful denials of coverage. The photo above shows yours truly speaking with Victor … Continue Reading
Assignment of Benefits (AOB) is certainly a hot button issue in the insurance industry. AOB occurs when an insured assigns its rights to insurance proceeds to a third-party that is not technically an insured under the insurance policy.… Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed to hear argument on the matter of Kurach v. Truck Insurance Exchange.1 Merlin Law Group blogged about this class action lawsuit back in May of 2017 and the link can be found here.… Continue Reading
On May 24, 2019, The Oklahoma Insurance Department issued Amended Bulletin No. 2019-Exec-01, protecting victims of severe weather in Oklahoma.… Continue Reading
Derek Chaiken is in the Merlin Law Group Los Angeles office. He is a Los Angeles Dodger fan and a student of drone usage during the property insurance claim process. Drones are no longer science fiction, but a fairly common part of modern property insurance claims adjustment. With stronger cameras and other advanced technical measuring … Continue Reading
If you’ve read my recap from Day 1 of the National Flood Conference, you’ll know that there was a lot to discuss from Day 1. Days 2 & 3 were a bit less eventful, and largely more geared towards flood insurance agents and lenders. As with Day 1, there were often several courses running concurrently, … Continue Reading
This year I’ve been privileged with the opportunity to attend the 2019 National Flood Conference in Washington D.C. The National Flood Conference is a three-day annual event for flood insurance industry professionals, and various other professionals whose industries overlap in some way with flood insurance (think mortgage lenders, insurance agents, mold remediators, attorneys, etc.). Over … Continue Reading
Many insurance policyholders who have lost homes in the devastating California wildfires call our firm and ask, “Can my insurance company really deduct the value of the land under the replacement home I purchased from my claim payment?” This is a great question because this is now an unlawful tactic by the insurance companies that … Continue Reading
The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals in Noonan v. American Family Mutual Insurance,1 recently upheld that the Minnesota Amendatory Homeowners Endorsement (“Endorsement”) excludes “matching.” The Endorsement provides that an insurer does “not pay to repair or replace undamaged property due to mismatch between damaged material and new material used to repair or replace damaged material.”… Continue Reading
Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting at the Spring Meeting & Seminar of the Professional Public Adjusters Association of New Jersey (“PPAANJ”). One of the more thoroughly discussed topics during my presentation was a recent New Jersey federal court decision involving insurance policy language commonly known as an anti-concurrent/anti-sequential causation clause.1 The clause … Continue Reading
It’s been almost seven years since Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey and Sandy cases are still wending through New Jersey Courts. A recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision discusses the importance of a properly completed proof of loss when submitting a flood claim under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP).1… Continue Reading
It has been almost eight months since Hurricane Michael devastated the eastern side of the Florida Panhandle. Not surprisingly, many residents and business owners are exhausted. Exhausted in the deepest sense—exhausted from waiting, exhausted from hoping, exhausted from failed promises made by their insurer, which benefited from premiums faithfully paid, only to find out that … Continue Reading
Introduction: Summer is upon us. Swimming pools will soon call like mythological Sirens. But whether you already have a home swimming pool, are planning to build an in-ground pool or are planning to purchase an above-ground pool for this summer’s fun in the sun, insurance coverage for personal injury liability and property damage should be … Continue Reading
