This blog follows up the previous post, Insurance Bad Faith in South Carolina: Part 2.
As explained in Part 2, there are several types of damages available to an insured for a first-party property insurance bad faith claim in South Carolina. Part 2 covered the availability of attorney’s fees in bad faith actions. This blog will cover other damages available, namely consequential and punitive damages. Continue Reading Insurance Bad Faith in South Carolina: Part 3
After a catastrophe such as Hurricane Laura, it is common that policyholders may not have a full copy of their insurance policy. Often the only policy document they may have in their possession is the Declaration Page showing a summary of the insurance benefits available to them. Though helpful, a full policy is necessary to inform the policyholders of their rights and duties under the insurance policy. Continue Reading Hurricane Laura Recovery: Policyholder’s Duties After a Loss
Insurance Bulletins are often overlooked gems protecting policyholders. Various departments of insurance regularly issue bulletins to Insurance companies regarding claims handling. The Arkansas Department of Insurance issued a bulletin last week indicating insurers should stop denying windstorm and hail damage claims when there is a valid reason by the policyholder not to have timely reported the loss. Continue Reading Should Late Notice of Windstorm and Hail Claims Be a Valid Defense When the Insurer Is Not Prejudiced?
The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether foreseeable consequential damages are recoverable when an insurer breaches its contract on Tuesday.1 Law360 is a great publication to keep abreast of the newest legal issues involving insurance and this is how it described the upcoming case:1 Continue Reading Are Foreseeable Consequential Damages for Breach of a Property Insurance Contract Recoverable?
As roadways are cleared of trees and debris and the downed power lines removed, residents begin returning to an unrecognizable community, their home, all landmarks destroyed in the heavily impacted areas. It is like a dream as they begin to navigate lost and in shock. Then, there it is: a remnant of what used to be a home, a business, a school, a store, the townhall—all destroyed. But resolve settles in with determination: “We have insurance. We’ll just rebuild.” And, it begins. Continue Reading Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing After Hurricane Laura – What Now and How Long?
Insurance claims education is important for everybody in the property insurance claims business. Insurance restoration contractors, independent, company and public adjusters, as well as insurance defense and policyholder attorneys should be constantly learning so we can serve the public trust and make the insurance claim business work to fulfill the public’s expectation. “Insurance serves the public trust” is a statement of law found in most states, including Louisiana. Continue Reading Can Chip Merlin Answer 21 Hurricane Laura Claims Questions in 15 Minutes? Watch Friday @2 With Chip Merlin to Find Out
Law and Ordinance Coverage is important for policyholders incurring a significant loss and faced with rebuilding to newer building codes and local ordinances, which generally increase the cost of construction. Florida has made significant changes to its building codes since Hurricane Andrew struck in 1992. Buildings are safer and stronger today than a few decades ago. But, the cost to make them safer and stronger is not inexpensive. Continue Reading Law & Ordinance Exclusions and Coverage and Constructive Total Loss—A Florida Perspective
(Note: This is the second part in a series of the McCarran-Ferguson Act.)
Last week in my post, The McCarran-Ferguson Act – What is it and How Does it Impact Insurance?, we learned that the McCarran-Ferguson Act gives insurance regulation power back to the states by providing a narrow exemption from federal antitrust laws for activities that are regulated by the states. Under the act:
No act of Congress shall be construed to invalidate, impair or supersede any law
enacted by any State for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance, or
which imposes a fee or a tax upon such business.1 Continue Reading The McCarran-Ferguson – Expanded
My colleague, Jason Cieri, in a recent blog post, Prejudgment Interest, What Is It and How Does It Help Me, explained what prejudgment interest is and how it helps a policyholder:
In jurisdictions that don’t have attorney fee shifting statutes, insured are left with very few tools to level the playing field against the behemoth insurance companies. Depending on your jurisdiction, prejudgment interest could be used to help level that playing field. Continue Reading Not Awarding Prejudgment Interest For Time Before And After Arbitration Award Would Lead To Absurd Results
Deborah Trotter was working with me in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Most of my time was spent with the Port of New Orleans litigation. She was trying to explain to me how codes were predominant, and that Louisiana common law took second place to Civil Law—meaning what was written in the Codes. Continue Reading Hurricane Laura and the Unique Louisiana Property Insurance Law