Examinations under oath are important to recovery. Reasonable production of relevant documents that are part of a cooperative investigation is important as well. Failure to provide an examination under oath and documents is a one-way street to help an insurer deny recovery.
Continue Reading Failure to Provide an Examination Under Oath and Documents Can Result in Lost Benefits
Significant losses make it difficult to quantify the amount of damage recoverable for personal property. Property insurance adjusters will sometimes find all the personal property was consumed in the fire. There is very little left over to view. Refreshing the policyholder’s mind with the types, amounts, and condition of personal property consumed in a major fire takes patience, time, and a great deal of expertise for the property insurance adjuster to evaluate the amount owed under the policy.
Continue Reading Personal Property Valuation In Georgia Following A Fire
A recent legal skirmish under a builders risk policy contains significant discussion about Georgia law allowing insurance companies to shorten the time to file a lawsuit. The trial court Order1 not dismissing the lawsuit despite a one-year limitation, and the brief of the policyholder are attached because they are worthy of study if you find yourself in a Georgia situation where the insurer is relying upon a statute of limitation defense.
Continue Reading Georgia Allows Property Insurers to Shorten Statute of Limitations But There Are Exceptions
I had barely finished my speech with Nicole Vinson at the Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (GAPIA) Spring Conference this morning when news broke that Jim Beck, Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner had been indicted in a 38-count criminal complaint for a fraudulent scheme involving insurance inspections and invoices. It alleged that Beck, a former insurance company lobbyist and executive, embezzled more than $2 million, used a Christian group in the scheme, and that some of the money went to his campaign.
Continue Reading Georgia Insurance Commissioner Indicted By Federal Government For Fraudulent Insurance Scheme
The Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters will hold its Spring Meeting on May 14 in Atlanta. GAPIA is one of the hardest working public adjuster associations I have ever been associated with. Unfortunately, we will be without Foy Taff of Taff Claims Service.
Continue Reading Georgia Association of Public Insurance Adjusters’ May 14 Spring Conference Will Be Missing Foy Taff
The Georgia Office of Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner has a simple online process for filing your complaint.
How the office responds to this Complaint may not be satisfying but it is important that a record is made of the insurance claims that are not properly handled.
Continue Reading How To File A Complaint With The Georgia Department of Insurance About Your Delaying, Denying and Bad Treating Insurance Company
A federal court in the Northern District of Georgia recently found that State Farm’s contamination clause was ambiguous regarding its application to a meth lab claim.
Continue Reading Georgia Court Finds Contamination Clause Ambiguous in Meth Lab Claim
Anita Taff and the entire GAPIA public adjuster Board of Directors should be congratulated for their success. I have the pleasure and the frustration of being in many different geographic areas where public adjuster organizations are having difficulties maintaining cohesiveness within their ranks. This is a
In a first-party property insurance dispute, a property owner may seek to have a lay witness or expert witness testify that the value of his or her property diminished in value as a result of the loss.
Continue Reading Lay Witness or Expert Witness Testimony on Diminished Value?
I recently came across an interesting opinion, Fuller v. Mercury Insurance Company of Georgia,1 where the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals discussed the effect of a guilty plea on a policyholder’s civil action against their insurance carrier. The opinion stemmed from a residential fire loss and the insured’s subsequent claim for benefits under her homeowner’s insurance policy.
Continue Reading To Plea or Not to Plea? Insurer’s Denial of Coverage for Residential Fire Loss Upheld