Hawaii is a beautiful state. Like many mainland states, Hawaii requires insurers to act in good faith. If they fail to do so, those insurers can be held accountable for bad faith conduct.… Continue Reading
Always double check the insured’s contract with a contractor doing repair work for a claim. The California Court of Appeal recently ruled, in Jozefowicz v. Allstate Insurance Company,1 that an insurer can directly pay a contractor when the contract provided that the contractor was appointed as the insured’s representative in fact to endorse and deposit … Continue Reading
I often receive calls from policyholders asking how an insurance company can deny their claim based on an exclusion that isn’t defined in the policy. One of these terms is “surface water,” a common exclusion found in most policies. Recently, I had a client whose home’s gutter system malfunctioned during a rainstorm. Rather than channeling … Continue Reading
After Hurricane Maria, many policyholders in Puerto Rico received payments for the damages caused by the hurricane, and due to the need for repairs to their property, they immediately deposited the checks. The problem with depositing these checks was many included the words “final” or “the endorsement of this check constitutes a total and definitive … Continue Reading
In a recent deposition in an insurance producer malpractice case, the producer was asked about the purpose of co-insurance and how our insured would be impacted under the provision if the building was underinsured. Unfortunately, the producer was unable to explain how the co-insurance provision worked or how the insured could be penalized. This prompted … Continue Reading
We’re currently in the middle of hurricane season and all Florida property owners should be examining their insurance policies to review both their policy limits and hurricane deductible before disaster strikes.… Continue Reading
Recently, my fiancé and I watched the Season 3 premier of Divorce on HBO. It’s sort of a guilty pleasure. I admit, at first, I was hesitant when my fiancé recommended I watch. But, one episode in and I was hooked. It’s funny, witty, snarky, and overall relatable for many people. If you haven’t watched … Continue Reading
Back on March 29, 2019, every attorney in the Merlin Law Group Red Bank office attended the “Protection Gap in Property Insurance” seminar that was hosted by Professor Jay M. Feinman and held at Rutgers law school. This was the first time that I had observed Mr. Feinman speak on issues pertaining to insurance and … Continue Reading
Every state has laws that prohibit unfair, discriminatory, or deceptive insurance practices. These regulations are normally encompassed as statutes or regulations enacted to protect insurance consumers. Pennsylvania has a statute enacted called the “Unfair Insurance Practices Act,”1 This law gives the consumer the right to file complaints against their insurance company to be investigated by … Continue Reading
Adverse rulings are always possible in federal litigation. This post explores how insureds can respond to adverse rulings issued by federal magistrate judges during pretrial litigation.… Continue Reading
Recently, the Colorado Supreme Court issued its opinion in Owners Ins. Co. v. Dakota Station II Condominium Association,1 on appraiser impartiality. Specifically, the court discussed the meaning and interpretation of impartiality under the insurance policy and whether a contingent-cap fee agreement between the appraiser and Dakota Station rendered the appraiser not impartial as a matter of … Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court recently answered the question above in two cases with different results depending on what type of insurance code violations the insured is alleging. The court addressed Texas Insurance Code chapter 542 violations (often called prompt payment of claims) in Barbara Technologies Corporation v. State Farm Lloyds.1… Continue Reading
Insurance companies are supposed to have insurance adjusters that are empathetic, professional and ethical when dealing with policyholders and claimants. The first chapter in the insurance treatise, Claims Handling Principles and Practices, has multiple lessons about these obligations. Claims adjusters should not make policyholders scream out of frustration about the service you receive.… Continue Reading
In a recent decision,1 a federal court interpreting Pennsylvania law held that the discovery rule does not apply in insurance actions and the statute of limitations for an insured to bring suit against their insurance company begins to run on the date of loss and not the date the insured becomes aware of the loss.… Continue Reading
The Tampa Bay Times ran an excellent story, Hurricane Michael Destroyed Their Homes Then The Insurance Heartache Began, which tells a sad but familiar theme about insurance company denials and delayed payments following hurricane losses. I was quoted in the piece: Chip Merlin, a Tampa insurance lawyer, said the same conflict happened in the last … Continue Reading
Rene Sigman of Merlin Law Group’s Houston office was getting some pretty good results for clients this week when she sent me a Texas Supreme Court appraisal case which makes delaying insurers more accountable for inaccurate or plain wrongful estimates of the benefits owed to policyholders. All this Texas good news had me thinking “Yippee-Yi-Yo-Ki-Yay!”… Continue Reading
Not sure when to sue your insurer? Property insurance policies typically contain a contractual suit limitation provision that sets the time within which policyholders may file suit on the claim. Some states allow the insurer to require in the policy that the policyholder file suit in as little as one year from the date of … Continue Reading
Hurricane Michael has left a familiar mark on the Florida Panhandle. Much like Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, Hurricane Michael brought devasting winds followed by wind and flooding and more wind. Battered homes and businesses are assessed in the aftermath in an attempt to determine the extent and cause of damage resulting from the multiple perils … Continue Reading
Chip Merlin posted about the Wear and Tear Exclusion just last month in Wear and Tear Exclusions Versus Depreciation For Resulting Damage To Worn and Torn Older Parts of a Structure. Explaining about wear and tear, Chip gave this example: The judge made up his own example of ten old bolts giving way and then … Continue Reading
I recently had a public adjuster reach out to me asking me how pre-award interest on an appraisal award was calculated. Coincidently, in Creekview of Hugo Association v. Owners Insurance Company,1 the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota recently addressed the application of pre-award or pre-judgment interest under Minnesota Law.… Continue Reading
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
