Nicole Vinson

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It is time to register for the 21st Annual Windstorm Insurance Network Conference. If you are reading this blog post, consider yourself personally invited. I welcome you to register and attend this conference, as the planning has been near and dear to me for several months. Under President Rick Tutwiler, I was selected as the conference committee co-chair. Along with defense attorney Illon Kantro, my dedicated partner in this mission, we have enabled a slew of team members to help Mr. Tutwiler with all the details for this upcoming conference.…
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Chomp, Chomp!

Insurance Policies are designed to cover sudden and accidental loss and damage. Mary Wischusen, 77, believed that she had a suffered a sudden and accidental act of nature and that coverage would be afforded when a gator came crashing into her kitchen. This 11-foot alligator was not her domestic pet or a planned guest, but her insurance company has denied the claim.…
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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 the rest of what the bolts failed to hold up, crashed and broke the rest of the old structure. The worn-out bolts may not be covered, but if you have the right ensuing loss provisions after the “wear and tear” clause, the rest of the loss is covered—even if the rest is old.

The older parts of the structure are the ensuing loss. They did not suffer a loss because they were worn out and broke. They suffered a loss because other parts of the structure broke from “wear and tear.” Those ensuing parts of the loss are depreciated on an actual cash value basis. If replaced, they are then valued at Replacement Cost.

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North Carolina was battered by Hurricane Florence last year and reports show very concerning issues of claims handling and low claim payments after the storm. Perhaps Hurricane Michael losses pulled adjusters out of North Carolina and for some insureds caused additional delays to their claims. North Carolina does have an option where you can advise the North Carolina Department of Insurance the details of your claim, but the system is not very user friendly—even the person answering the phone advised that the online version is hard to find on the website.…
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In the wake of Hurricane Michael, some policyholders are starting to see a response from their insurance companies for their home and business losses. The extent and the magnitude of the damages that Hurricane Michael caused has been captured by some media outlets but down played by others. Many of those dealing directly with the destruction and the devastation are resilient and taking it one day at a time but had placed a sense of hope on the premium dollars they had spent paying for insurance coverage and have long awaited the insurance company’s response and action.…
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