Assignment Clause

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Well many folks in the insurance industry have been waiting some time for this moment… the decision of the validity of post-loss assignments of benefits in Florida. Several opinions were recently issued on the same day (May 20, 2015) by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals related to assignments of benefits in property insurance claims.1 The cases involve the typical scenario where a policyholder hires a water remediation contractor after suffering a loss, and instead of having to pay them out of their pocket for the work, they issue and assignment of part of the claim proceeds to the vendor.…

Continue Reading Are All Post-Loss Assignments Of Benefits Created Equal? Accrued vs. Unaccrued Rights Being Assigned

In California, regarding a transfer of an interest in a fire policy, the policy must have an assignment provision which states, to the effect: “Assignment of this policy shall not be valid except with the written consent of this company.” But is this rule absolute? California courts have said no.…

Continue Reading Assignment of the Policy: Is the Insurer’s Prior Written Consent Always Required for the Claim to be Accepted?

Borrowing a quote from Chip Merlin’s post, Dead Bodies–Are They a Covered Peril?:

Some of the most unnerving claims an adjuster experiences are those concerning dead bodies, and we have had many recent questions regarding the deceased and what to do with them. Particularly, is there coverage under the homeowner’s policy for clean up for both the dwelling and personal property? Are dead bodies’ pollutants? And what about self inflicted situations; are they excluded as intentional acts?

The quote above came from Christine Barlow, a CPCU and assistant editor of the FC&S Bulletin many years ago.…

Continue Reading Property Damage Caused by a Dead Body: Court Says Clean-up Company can be Paid and Assignment of Benefits Valid

If you work in or around property insurance in Florida, you have undoubtedly been exposed to the recent debate regarding Assignment of Benefits (“AOB”). An AOB is a legal form that allows an insurance provider to bill your insurance carrier directly. AOBs allow home-repair contractors to bill insurance carriers requiring nothing out-of-pocket from the homeowners after their home has been damaged. The following scenario illustrates how AOBs are supposed to work: A pipe breaks in your home and floods your living room. You call someone to extract the water the dry your home. With an AOB, that company will provide services to you without upfront payment because they have a legal means to recover their fee from the insurance company directly.…

Continue Reading AOB and the Industry who Cried Wolf

Whether a policyholder can assign their bad faith claim to someone else is an interesting question—that is, if you find insurance issues and assignments interesting like I do; if not, then reading about assignments in insurance can be a cure for insomnia. Anyway, in my last post on this topic, we discussed a Pennsylvania case allowing a policyholder to assign their bad faith claim to another person. This post will look at Florida law on the topic.…

Continue Reading Can A Policyholder Assign Their Bad Faith Claim To A Third Party?–Part 2