Insurance

Subscribe to Insurance

The Louisiana Property and Casualty Insurance Commission is a panel created by statute and made up of members from various backgrounds representing government, consumers, and members of the insurance industry. The panel exists to suggest changes and improve the State’s insurance market. To that end, the Commission reviews and examines issues affecting the availability and affordability of property and casualty insurance and creates a report covering its findings. I was reviewing the most recent report, which covers 2019 and 2020, and I thought it was interesting just how much has changed since the last report was released.
Continue Reading Back-to-Back Years of Major Hurricanes Quickly Changed Louisiana’s Property Insurance Marketplace

In June, we noted in Louisiana Appellate Court Finds Coverage For Covid Business Losses, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal opinion1 reversing a trial court’s judgment against an insured business affected by COVID-19. The case, Cajun Conti LLC, Cajun Cuisine 1 LLC, and Cajun Cuisine LLC d/b/a Oceana Grill v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London and Governor John B. Edwards in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Louisiana, and the State of Louisiana, involves a popular New Orleans restaurant, known as Oceana Grill, which requested the trial court declare Business Interruption coverage existed under their policy. This type of request is referred to as a “Petition for Declaratory Relief,” as opposed to a request that a court compels another party to pay for losses that were caused by that party (referred to as a “Petition for Damages”).
Continue Reading The Difference in the Outcome of Your COVID-19 Business Interruption Suit May Depend on Which Court You File In

Amy Bach of United Policyholders has a feel for the pulse of property insurance coverage trends that impact policyholders throughout the United States. She has a seat at the table with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) when discussing topics impacting insurance consumers. I was fascinated with the content of her speech at the California Association of Public Insurance Adjusters Annual Conference yesterday. If there is a macro view of the current coverage trend in standard insurance property insurance, it has to be one of shrinkage and fewer benefits for policyholders while insurance rates increase.
Continue Reading Property Insurance Policy Coverage Trends Point to Less Coverage at Greater Cost

The recent Champlain Towers class action lawsuit is a case that our law firm participated in that resulted in over a billion dollars being approved by the judge as part of the class settlement. The class action cases against banks overcharging for forced place insurance premiums, which we participated in, resulted in billions awarded and was a big win. But civil racketeering lawsuits (RICO lawsuits) that are successful are rare, and class action lawsuits are tough. That is the warning to those who flaunt these cases in discussions following the ruling dismissing a RICO case we blogged about in RICO Lawsuit Against United Property & Casualty Amended With More Allegations. …
Continue Reading RICO and Class Action Lawsuits Are Difficult To Win—The Florida Restoration Contractor RICO Lawsuit Is Dismissed

Cal Spoon asked me to speak at the Mend The Fracture Conference. It will be held next week on November 11-12 at the Trump Hotel and Tower in Chicago. My presentation will be a one of a kind for a one of a kind conference. The title is To Be Rather Than Seem: Becoming Authentically Best In The Property Claims Business With Others Of A Similar Mindset.
Continue Reading Mend The Fracture Conference on November 11-12 in Chicago

National Flood Insurance adjustments can be extraordinarily maddening for people trying to get a fair adjustment. For example, the Superstorm Sandy flood adjustment fiasco led to a Congressional investigation and thousands of flood claims being re-opened and eventually paid years late because those overseeing the program and its attorneys nitpicked and refused to pay claims for the stupidest wrongful reasons.
Continue Reading National Flood Insurance Adjustment Disputes—Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Additional living expense (ALE) coverage is extraordinarily valuable to victims of Hurricane Ian. These benefits are often overlooked because insurance policies do not provide examples of common living expenses. United Policyholders provides such a list:…
Continue Reading Additional Living Expense Coverage and the Period of Restoration Following Hurricane Ian