Depending on the jurisdiction, one element of an insured’s damages in a first-party property insurance claim may include consequential damages. Consequential damages are an indirect result of a direct loss.1 Lost profit, lost rents, and lost business opportunities are examples of consequential damages that could be incurred as a result of a direct physical loss … Continue Reading
Many Policyholders in Puerto Rico are concerned about the notifications of non-renewal or cancellations they received after Hurricane Maria claims. This is a matter that affects both residential and commercial Policyholders. The process of obtaining insurance coverage from a different insurance company can be even more difficult when repairs related to a prior claim have … Continue Reading
The Colorado Department of Insurance will not be repealing its longstanding bulletin requiring that contractor overhead and profit be a part of a calculation to determine actual cash value at tomorrow’s stakeholder meeting in Denver. This is fantastic news for all Policyholders and the correct decision by those dealing with this issue in the Colorado … Continue Reading
While the timeframe to file a legal action is generally defined under the Statute of Limitations, in some states an insurance policy can contractually establish a shorter period to file a legal action. In a recent California case, Keller v. Federal Insurance Company,1 the Ninth Circuit upheld a Legal Action Against Us clause, finding the … Continue Reading
The recent blog post, My House Has Suffered Water Damage, Am I Covered? suggested to hire a licensed public adjuster, or an attorney if the claim was denied, to help you with a water loss claim. This led me to question, “how anybody would find a quality public adjuster or attorney?” The common answer in today’s … Continue Reading
Lately, much of the United States have seen wild swings of severe weather. From the mid 70’s on Saturday to 47 degrees and an inch of rain on Monday, severe weather can wreak havoc on your home. With torrential rains and flash flood in most parts of the Northeast recently, many find themselves asking: my … Continue Reading
Congress must periodically renew the NFIP’s statutory authority to operate. On Dec. 21, 2018, the President signed legislation passed by Congress that extends the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authorization to May 31, 2019.… Continue Reading
Prompt-pay laws are important to a policyholder’s rights to recover insurance benefits following a wrongful denial or delay in payment of a property damage claim. Prompt-pay laws vary from state to state. The implementation of statutory prompt-pay laws is critical to a policyholder’s recovery following a devastating loss.… Continue Reading
“Oh, Boy!” was my first thought after reading a case which holds that those arbitration agreements requiring policyholders to arbitrate in far-away places could not be stopped by state law. Congress should stop this, and state legislators should write laws to ban those insurance carriers who sell such policies.… Continue Reading
I had barely finished my speech with Nicole Vinson at the Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (GAPIA) Spring Conference this morning when news broke that Jim Beck, Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner had been indicted in a 38-count criminal complaint for a fraudulent scheme involving insurance inspections and invoices. It alleged that Beck, a former insurance company … Continue Reading
Rhode Island appraisals are treated very similar to Florida appraisals. The general rule is that unless the claim is denied for coverage, the parties must go to appraisal if it is demanded. Insurers seeking to avoid appraisal need to specifically indicate why the dispute is subject to a coverage denial and must be litigated.… Continue Reading
A Florida appellate court has ruled that the 60-day cure period for a Civil Remedy Notice begins when the policyholder files the Civil Remedy Notice – not when the insurance company receives a copy of it.… Continue Reading
Named Windstorm deductibles are fairly common in areas prone to hurricanes. Instead of a policyholder being responsible for deductibles which can regularly rise to several thousand dollars, in the event of a named storm, which tropical storms and hurricanes become, a higher Named Windstorm Deductible applies and usually results in a very high deductible. Many … Continue Reading
In a recent court opinion,1 the New Jersey Appellate Division interpreted a homeowner’s insurance policy’s water damage exclusion and determined whether damage from a broken municipal water main under a public street was covered under the policy. In that case, a homeowner brought an action against his insurer for breach of contract after the insurer … Continue Reading
The California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Act imposes multiple deadlines to respond and report to insureds during a claim adjustment. Knowing and understanding an insurer’s reporting duties and deadlines can speed up the adjustment and payment of a claim. Although a failure to meet a deadline by a day or two may not, in and … Continue Reading
My weekend reading found me with a recently purchased 1953 2d Edition of Property Insurance Adjusting. The reading worked pretty well for my unplanned recovery of sleep deprivation during the work week. The publication listed a bibliography with a number of General Adjustment Bureau manuals. Being the nerdy collector of insurance lore, I started a … Continue Reading
The Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters will hold its Spring Meeting on May 14 in Atlanta. GAPIA is one of the hardest working public adjuster associations I have ever been associated with. Unfortunately, we will be without Foy Taff of Taff Claims Service.… Continue Reading
Feenix Parkside LLC owed a commercial building that incurred a partial collapse to their ceiling. When Feenix sought coverage for the collapse, the insurer—Berkley North Pacific—denied coverage for the loss. When Feenix reported the loss, they stated the collapse was due to decay, which was a gradual decline in strength and soundness.… Continue Reading
A septic system back-up into a home can be a rotten situation for a homeowner, and depending on the extent of the back-up, can cause widespread damage throughout the home. When researching coverage for septic system back-ups I was surprised by the number of Florida cases addressing this very issue.… Continue Reading
The Colorado Division of Insurance will hold a public stakeholder meeting at the Colorado Division of Insurance in Denver on May 21, 2019, regarding its proposal to eliminate one of its long-standing bulletins requiring insurance companies to pay contractor overhead and profit rather than deduct the amount until incurred.1 We discussed this in Colorado Overhead … Continue Reading
Mark Houser recently visited our firm. We had an interesting discussion about the state of affairs with public adjuster training and education. We also discussed how his association, Property Adjustment National Association was faring.… Continue Reading
An Illinois Public Insurance Adjuster recently contacted me regarding an insurer’s denial of a smoke damage claim. The facts were as follows. While a condominium unit owner was using the fireplace in the unit (“unit 1”), smoke began to fill up in the condominium unit above (“unit 2”). The condominium association made a claim to … Continue Reading
The Michigan Director of Insurance recently issued the following bulletin: MICHIGAN INSURANCE BULLETINS AND RELATED MATERIALS BULLETINS Bulletin 2019-07-INS April 17, 2019 FROM: Anita G. Fox Director Of Insurance DATE: April 17, 2019 RE: RESIDENTIAL PUBLIC ADJUSTER CONTRACT This bulletin supersedes Bulletin 2018-22-INS, dated November 20, 2018. The Director has approved a new residential public … Continue Reading
For nearly two years, I had the opportunity to serve as a law clerk for a United States District Judge. Serving in chambers was one of the greatest experiences of my legal career. Today, I wanted to take a short break from my federal court practice series and explain to policyholders the role law clerks … Continue Reading
