The United States Supreme Court held in the 1931 case of Hardware Dealers Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. Glidden Company,1 that the appraisal clause found in the Minnesota standard fire insurance policy is constitutional. This post follows the recent post, Does the Appraisal Process Violate the Constitution?, where I analyzed a pending case where the insurance company is arguing that the appraisal “process” is unconstitutional. Continue Reading Supreme Court Has Ruled That the Appraisal Clause in the Standard Fire Policy Is Constitutional

The Louisiana Court of Appeals found that coverage exists for loss or damage caused by “direct physical loss of or damage to” the insured premises as a result of contamination by COVID-19.1 I have previously discussed the case following the trial in Chip At @2 Will Be At 2:30 With Update on New Orleans Oceana COVID Trial Won By the Insurer, and attached briefs and various depositions. John Houghtaling and other attorneys representing the policyholder deserve a big shout-out for bringing home a win. It was not easy. Continue Reading Louisiana Appellate Court Finds Coverage For Covid Business Losses

Happy Father’s Day!

Pablo Caceres is an experienced insurance defense attorney from a very reputable law firm who has raised the issue of whether the appraisal process violates the constitution. In an answer to a lawsuit by a condominium trying to enforce the appraisal provision, Caceres made the following argument on behalf of his client, Empire Indemnity Insurance Company: Continue Reading Does the Appraisal Process Violate the Constitution?

The Coalition of Disaster Responders (CDR) held its annual meeting at Captain Anderson’s in Panama City Beach. I love Panama City, Florida. I lived there in the 1970s when my father was the Captain of the Coast Guard Cutter Dependable. I am still a 35-year member of the St. Andrews Bay Yacht Club, which is down in “the Cove” of Panama City. I was honored to be CDR’s keynote speaker yesterday. Continue Reading The Coalition of Disaster Responders Hits It Out of the Park

Earlier this year, I wrote about the ongoing saga that is the Florida property insurance legislative reform efforts in a blog post titled: Florida Insurers Continued Use of “Fraud” as a Red Herring in Their Legislative Agenda. Continue Reading Florida’s New Property Insurance Reform Tackles Fraud, But Only One Side

Property insurance claimants are entitled to fair claim payments for the costs to restore their property to pre-loss condition, including the cost of appropriate contractor supervision of sub-contractors and other managerial duties. Continue Reading California’s New Responsible Managing Employees Law Explained

What happens if your insurance carrier goes under? Many people never consider this as a possibility, but as more and more insurance carriers go insolvent in Florida, this is becoming a very common reality. Continue Reading A Brief Overview on Insurance Company Insolvencies and FIGA

Does the typical homeowner have the expertise to inspect and evaluate the construction of a major loss? The answer is an obvious “no.” Yet, it is a rare occasion that a major repair estimate calls for any costs associated with drafting construction specifications and then inspecting the construction to determine if specifications are being met. Continue Reading Do Homeowners Need Architects or Representatives in The Rebuilding Process?

Actuaries from New York City have no answer for the most improbable set of statistics that have been recently occurring—lightning strikes have been increasing while lightning losses have been declining. The phenomenon is so bewildering that an international group of actuaries from Toronto, South Florida, and the Carolinas joined their New York colleagues to study and explain the situation. All are amazed and bewildered at what almost seems impossible. The crazy thing is that this recent aberration seems to happen at the same time every year and is most prevalent in Tampa, Florida. Continue Reading Lightning Strikes Increase While Lightning Losses Almost Disappear