Ed Eshoo obtained a favorable ruling this week with a finding that held a collapse caused by hidden decay was covered.1 The opinion has a full analysis of the coverage because the insurer raised the normal set of objections to each element pertaining to collapse coverage—it did not happen during the policy period, the dropping floor does not constitute a collapse, the collapse was not total, and the collapse was not hidden. Continue Reading Collapse By Hidden Decay Covered
Property owners and property managers need to face the reality if they have a property that is smoke damaged from wildfires. Following my recent post, A Safety Video Every Homeowner In a Wildfire Area Should Watch, two articles in Restoration and Remediation Magazine should be read by property owners, property managers, restoration contractors, and property insurance adjusters. Continue Reading Dioxins Are Extremely Dangerous and Cannot Be Overlooked Following Wildfires
Pictures can speak a thousand words. In a coverage decision finding for the policyholder, those photos may speak hundreds of thousands of dollars. Continue Reading Pictures Explain Why There Is Coverage and State Farm Will Face Bad Faith at Trial
Robert Hartwig is the current leading propagandist for the insurance industry’s lobbying efforts in the United States. His current propaganda piece, It’s Not just The Weather: The Man-Made Crises Roiling Property Insurance Markets, lays out the insurance industry’s targets and objectives for the upcoming legislative sessions in 2023. Continue Reading The Insurance Company View by Robert Hartwig
God knows that I feel like I am just hitting my stride and building the type of law firm I have dreamed of for a long time. Yet, my friend and age contemporary, Ray Altieri, is having a retirement party today. Ray certainly deserves to enjoy whatever dreams he has for his journey. I feel fortunate to have been a small footnote to his success. Continue Reading Ray Altieri Retires?
Insurance companies have management that set objectives for performance of their claims adjusters. A short explanation of management by objectives is the following: Continue Reading When Will Insurance Companies Reward Adjusters For Fully and Promptly Paying Their Customers?
Scott Walden wrote an excellent article, The Squeeze, in Cleaning & Restoration Magazine. While I encourage those to read the full article, he stated in part how managed care has morphed into a win situation for only the insurance carriers and third-party administrators: Continue Reading The Managed Repair and Third Party Administrator Problem
Vince Perri is a public adjuster who has a YouTube channel, The Claims Game Podcast, and has started an education and training course for public adjusters. Vince recently came to our Tampa office and interviewed me on a number of property insurance claims topics of the day, which you can see in a video, The Current State and the Future of Public Adjusting. Continue Reading The Vince Perri Interview of Chip Merlin
Public adjuster Corey Locke followed up on yesterday’s post, All Insurance Companies Have Written Claims Processes, with the following question:
If a TPA program demand the vendor(s) cut their reasonable and necessary estimated costs, in order to participate in insurance carrier referral programs, then how is the insured fully compensated for their loss under California Code 2051.5?
Continue Reading Do Managed Repair Programs Violate The Unfair Claims Practice Act?
I was recently told that USAA has a claims manager who said USAA has no written claims procedures. I was skeptical about that statement until I read the USAA claims manager’s deposition. Continue Reading All Insurance Companies Have Written Claims Processes