Hurricane Ida caused a tremendous amount of damage. One coverage issue concerns asbestos in older buildings and whether removal is paid for under a property insurance policy that may also contain pollution exclusions.
Continue Reading Hurricane Ida Asbestos Removal Costs Covered—Subscribe to FC&S
The President of the United States and the Insurance Commissioner of Louisiana have come out publicly asking insurance companies to pay for customers’ increased living expenses under their homeowners policies. The editors of the FC&S recently published an opinion supporting these requests.
Continue Reading Hurricane Ida Additional Living Expense Coverage Supported By FC&S Editors
In his August 10, 2021, blog, Chip Merlin discussed the recent FC&S Bulletin addressing the relationship between replacement cost coverage and the increase in construction costs. For background on this discussion and to better understand the significance of the FC&S bulletin, I suggest reading his blog post, Can You Get Paid More on Your Insurance Claim When Prices Rise After a Loss?
Continue Reading Replacement Cost Coverage: Why You Can Get Paid More on Your Insurance Claim When Prices Rise After a Loss
Additional living expenses can create a number of questions about what items of expanse can be claimed following a loss. FC&S is a publication I encourage those in the claims business to subscribe. While reading the Question and Answer section of the FC&S Coverage Insider, the following additional living expense coverage question was posed:
Our insured has an ISO HO 3 policy, 1991 edition, and recently suffered a fire loss. Coverage for her home and contents is not at issue; however, she has had to relocate to a motel until restoration of her home is complete. Prior to the loss, she stored some of her personal property in half of her two-car garage. Because of the fire, she can no longer use this space until repairs have been completed.
The insurance company is questioning two items under additional living expense—the cost to rent a storage space, and the cost to dry clean the clothing she took with her.
We think this is additional living expense, and should be covered. What is your opinion?
Are you covered if your pet cat causes a CATastrophe to your property? I was posed this question after being referred to an article on celebrity Frankie Muniz who found his home “flooded with 3 feet of water because his cat had accidentally turned on the faucet while he was away at his uncle’s funeral.” That is a strange loss.
Continue Reading A CATastrophe! Is Damage Caused By Pets Covered?
Most judges and insurance regulators have never worked in property insurance claims departments. For that matter, few insurance attorneys have either (Merlin Law Group’s Javier Delgado worked his way through school as an independent adjuster). But, when I was starting out, an older and experienced GAB adjuster told me they never depreciated labor and the deprecation of repairs rarely occurred.
Continue Reading Few Judges and Insurance Regulators Worked in Property Claims: Understanding New Depreciation Rulings
Judges often make erroneous decisions based on the information presented and argued to them by the attorneys selected by the parties. I was thinking about this while writing my post, Experts Regarding Causation Can Be More Important Than Witnesses — or, Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes When Your Insurance Company Hires an Expert.
Continue Reading Cracks Caused by Construction Operations May Be Covered
A public adjuster called with a common situation—a property loss occurred during repair and the insurance company had initially denied the claim, saying that the loss was from defective construction. The smart public adjuster thought the property damage caused in part by defective construction could lead to coverage under an ensuing loss provision. The policyholder did not want to get bogged down in years of possible litigation with its repair contractor.
Continue Reading Defective Construction and Ensuing Loss Provisions
Many commercial property owners and investors hit by Hurricane Matthew may insure multiple buildings under one policy. Depending on the insurance coverage form, one or multiple deductibles may apply. I was thinking about this while reading a recent case indicating that multiple deductibles applied.1
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.