A recent Florida 4th District Court of Appeal decision, Bryant v. Geovera Specialty Insurance Company,1 addressed the issue of whether an insurance carrier’s payment of an appraisal award above a sublimit constituted a “confession of judgment.” Continue Reading
Victor Jacobellis and Chip Merlin
Victor Jacobellis left his job in San Francisco representing insurance companies to join Merlin Law Group and help policyholders obtain insurance coverage benefits. He asked me to speak with him about exceptions to exclusions of coverage which are often overlooked and lead to wrongful denials of coverage. The photo above shows yours truly speaking with Victor Jacobellis in Napa, California at the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters Annual Conference on this important insurance topic. Continue Reading
Assignment of Benefits (AOB) is certainly a hot button issue in the insurance industry. AOB occurs when an insured assigns its rights to insurance proceeds to a third-party that is not technically an insured under the insurance policy. Continue Reading
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. Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed to hear argument on the matter of Kurach v. Truck Insurance Exchange.1 Merlin Law Group blogged about this class action lawsuit back in May of 2017 and the link can be found here. Continue Reading
Insurance policyholders who are considering suing their insurance companies for bad faith need to consider many pros and cons, including the potential for financial compensation. California juries can allocate the money they award policyholders to several categories, such as unpaid policy benefits, attorney fees, and punitive damages. This post addresses punitive damages and looks at three key issues that came up in a recent decision from California’s Second Appellate District.1 Keep in mind, there are many other factors to consider, and there is no substitute for a consultation with an experienced insurance law attorney. Continue Reading
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready
On May 24, 2019, The Oklahoma Insurance Department issued Amended Bulletin No. 2019-Exec-01, protecting victims of severe weather in Oklahoma. Continue Reading
Derek Chaiken
Derek Chaiken is in the Merlin Law Group Los Angeles office. He is a Los Angeles Dodger fan and a student of drone usage during the property insurance claim process. Drones are no longer science fiction, but a fairly common part of modern property insurance claims adjustment. With stronger cameras and other advanced technical measuring devises, drone usage is an efficient tool all property insurance adjusters should use during the adjustment process. Continue Reading
If you’ve read my recap from Day 1 of the National Flood Conference, you’ll know that there was a lot to discuss from Day 1. Days 2 & 3 were a bit less eventful, and largely more geared towards flood insurance agents and lenders. As with Day 1, there were often several courses running concurrently, so the below is my recap of those that I attended. Continue Reading
After filing a claim, insurance companies will at times request a substantial amount of information, leaving many Coloradans feeling overwhelmed. However, a failure to respond to the requests (aka “failure to cooperate”), could cost an insured their owed insurance claim benefits. Recently the United States District Court, District of Colorado, discussed this issue in its review of a Motion for Summary Judgment in Cribari v. Allstate Fire & Casualty Insurance Company.1 Continue Reading
