Houston was under water during Hurricane Harvey. Many people whose properties were not flooded from the Hurricane itself, and had never previously flooded, found themselves waist deep in flood water – their homes, businesses, and personal property forever ruined.… Continue Reading
For some time now, people have been keeping a close eye on several of Puerto Rico’s major insurance carriers due to rumors of insolvency. One of those insurance carriers, Real Legacy Assurance, has unfortunately confirmed these rumors and recently filed for liquidation. According to reports, the carrier has paid nearly $40 million dollars to settle … Continue Reading
In the recent case of Rainforest Chocolate, LLC v. Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd.,1 the Supreme Court of Vermont found coverage for Rainforest where Sentinel’s “false pretense” exclusion turned out to be ambiguous as there were at least two reasonable interpretations of what constituted “physical loss or physical damages.”2… Continue Reading
The photograph above depicts the Merlin Law Group “War Room” during a week-long arbitration last week. Michael Duffy, Ian Dankelman, Eric Dickey, and Kelly Kubiak were the winning Merlin Law Group team obtaining a $3.1 million award on Saturday. What a way to start off the year!… Continue Reading
Recently, I presented at the Professional Public Adjusters Association of New Jersey educational conference on the area of insurance appraisal to roughly 30 public adjusters. During my preparation, I reviewed current and past appraisal provisions contained within standard insurance policies. In my research, I found some very interesting differences contained within insurance policy appraisal provisions … Continue Reading
Ed Eshoo works out of Merlin Law Group’s Chicago office and is one of the best property insurance policyholder coverage attorneys you could find. I do not think there is anybody with a national reputation as being “the expert” on the 165-line Standard Fire Insurance Policy on a national, rather than state, basis. Ed is an … Continue Reading
In July, 2016, what has been called a 200-to-500 year thunderstorm dropped between five and seven inches of rain in a two-hour period in Princeton, New Jersey. The heavy rain fall resulted in water pooling at the bottom of a stairwell below street level, next to a salon’s glass door entrance.… Continue Reading
I grew up in a United States Coast Guard family. One of the fondest two years of my life was when my father was stationed on the USCG Dependable and we lived in Panama City, Florida. I sailed in every nook and lagoon of St. Andrews Bay and raced sailboats like my life’s existence depended … Continue Reading
Due to changes in the Texas Insurance Code that went into effect in 2017, more and more first-party insurance cases are ending up in Federal Court. Now that we are entering the second full week of the government shutdown some of my clients are asking what happens with their cases.… Continue Reading
As I was walking to catch a train here in Chicago the other day, I saw numerous billboard advertisements throughout the station for Allstate insurance. Each advertisement posed an insurance question and told the reader to ask an Allstate insurance agent, thus suggesting the agent would know the answer.… Continue Reading
With frigid temperatures setting in here in the Northeast and other parts of the country, it is an ideal time for insureds to ensure they are compliant with the protective safeguards1 endorsement that may be attached to their commercial policies.… Continue Reading
In my last two posts I wrote about the threatened expiration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and stop-gap legislation that averted the lapse. NFIP’s authorization to operate is now extended to May 31, 2019. Despite the reauthorization legislation, FEMA announced it would halt NFIP’s authority to issue new and renewal flood policies until … Continue Reading
My son, Chase, father, Bill, and I went to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta this past weekend to cheer on the mighty Florida Gators as they defeated the Michigan Wolverines. Afterwards, I was curious how alligators would fare in litigated property insurance cases and the results of my legal research were not so good for … Continue Reading
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
If you have recently looked at the FEMA web site looking for a specific bulletin related to NFIP claims, you might have noticed the site has changed.… Continue Reading
In two recent blog posts, I discussed Florida statutory interest which imposes a statutory duty on insurance carriers to pay interest on delayed payment of insurance proceeds.1 If you missed either blog post, then you find them here: I Reported My Claim Eight Months Ago! Am I Entitled to Interest Upon Resolution? Florida Statutory Interest: … Continue Reading
Plans for the holiday season and especially for the big blowout bash of January 1st are, no doubt, well underway with arrangements having been made for the location, caterer, band, and invitations, but has any thought been given to the purchase of special event insurance? Probably not. Insurance is usually an afterthought if any thought … Continue Reading
The holiday season is often a time to gather with family and friends. Sometimes, people consider their in-laws and even their ex-in-laws to be family and relatives worthy to be visited during the holidays, particularly if there are children involved. But does this analysis carry over for insurance coverage?… Continue Reading
In Kingshill Hospitality, Inc. v. American Economy Insurance Company,1 the policyholder’s hotel was damaged by a fire. Three days later the policyholder hired a public adjuster to assist in submitting its insurance claim. A dispute arose regarding the amount of loss and the policyholder filed suit for breach of contract.… Continue Reading
When a National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) insured is not satisfied with the payment for flood-related losses, the NFIP insured is directed to three options:1 The NFIP insured may file an appeal with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) within 60 days of the NFIP insurer’s written denial or partial denial of the requested claim … Continue Reading
The North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, Mike Causey, gets an A+ grade for his recent bulletin requiring greater investigation of otherwise hidden areas behind walls to ensure losses are being adjusted properly. This bulletin will certainly help victims of Hurricane Florence with hurricane claims.… Continue Reading
