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The Office of the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (CSI) is responsible for regulating the state’s insurance industry. One of the ways it accomplishes this mission is by “serv[ing] as the official advocate for Montana consumers in disputes with their insurance company.”1 If you live in Montana and think that your insurance claim or policy has been delayed, wrongly denied, or deliberately underpaid, you can file a complaint with CSI and request an investigation into the matter.
Continue Reading How to File a Complaint with the Montana State Auditor’s Insurance Department

The defense of late notice has increasingly been used as a technical defense to preclude coverage for covered losses caused by covered perils. While some states have issued bulletins (targeting these strategies,1 often the determination of whether coverage will be afforded will depend upon whether a particular state requires that an insurance company demonstrate that the untimely notice caused prejudice in the investigation of the claim. While it would seem the denial of coverage due to an action that has no material effect on the insurer would further the purpose of having insurance, several states still apply a traditional notice rule that does not require a showing of prejudice.2…
Continue Reading Montana Requires Insurance Company to Demonstrate Prejudice When Denying a Claim for Late Notice

We received a request for a blog related to decisions on roof matching under homeowner’s policies of insurance. In 1997 the Insurance Commissioner’s Office of Montana took a position on roof matching under the contractual duty to make a policyholder “whole” again, and the query was whether Montana had case law or statutory provisions at this time that codifies that practice.
Continue Reading Roof Matching in Montana

In Montana, a jury may consider all relevant evidence when determining the actual cash value of the property damaged or destroyed.1 Under the broad evidence rule, the trier of fact “may consider any evidence logically tending to the formation of a correct estimate of the value of the insured property at the time of the loss.”2…
Continue Reading Calculating Actual Cash Value, Part 26: Montana