We’ll let the jury decide. Policyholders must meet post-loss obligations under their property insurance policy prior to receiving coverage for a loss. A common condition precedent requires policyholders to provide prompt notice of the loss to their carrier. The carrier must be able to conduct a reasonable investigation of the property conditions as close to … Continue Reading
With less than sixty days until the one-year anniversary of the most expensive hailstorm in Colorado history which hammered west metro Denver on May 8, 2017, many individuals, business owners, and community associations members continue the difficult task of negotiating with insurance companies in an effort to return property to pre-storm conditions.… Continue Reading
While Texas continues to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, hail season is quickly approaching. While it is true that hail can develop any time of year, spring is traditionally when large hail events have hit Texas.… Continue Reading
Note: This guest blog is by Lewis O’Leary, who has served as both a forensic investigator and restoration contractor since Hurricane Camille (1969). He has a degree in the fields of Mechanical Engineering and Architecture, is the Chairman of the Education Committee for the Building Envelope Science Institute, and is a design/build, General Contractor licensed … Continue Reading
Monday’s hailstorm was likely one of the most damaging hailstorms to impact the Denver metropolitan area. Thousands of homeowners, business owners, and associations will be filing insurance claims in the coming days, if they haven’t already done so.… Continue Reading
Insurance companies routinely have instructions for their claims adjusters on how to adjust various types of losses. State Farm has some of the most detailed claims guidelines in the industry. I have often stated that for first-party claims, relevant claims guidelines should also be provided to the policyholders who suffer losses. Why not?… Continue Reading
Colorado Springs was hit by epic hail storms this past July. Reports noted tennis ball size hail and citizens shoveling away hail as if it were a snowstorm. A massive number of hail storm insurance claims resulted. As sure as the sun rises, disputes about how much is covered and the amount owed under the … Continue Reading
I was crying as the verdict was read in the Phoenix federal district courthouse. So was my client. We won a very hard fought multi-million dollar hailstorm trial against Travelers. It came only because of hard work. The short video above is of our client explaining why we won.… Continue Reading
Hailstorms are wreaking havoc as noted in Brandee Bower‘s post yesterday, Greetings From Hail Alley. After contacting their insurance companies, some policyholders unfortunately find their insurance companies deny the claims based on exclusions in the insurance contract involving wear and tear as well as inadequate maintenance.… Continue Reading
On May 10, 2016 there was a severe thunderstorm near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The below photograph depicts hail streaks (hail falling to the ground) and is a stunning image that captures the destructive nature of these storms.1… Continue Reading
Steve Badger‘s recent article regarding hail damage claims, The Emerged Hail Risk: What the Hail is Still Going on and Getting Worse, is a bit of a rant. He had one nice thing to say about me being "a well-known and respected policyholder attorney," but he laid into problems caused or supported by other lawyers, … Continue Reading
The Rocky Mountain Association of Public Insurance Adjuster’s Fall Conference (RMAPIA) is tomorrow. Merlin Law Group attorney David Pettinato and I will be presenting practical issues of public adjusting, professional development, and ethical issues for public adjusters.… Continue Reading
Only insurance company claims managers and their paid for lawyers could argue that a hail dented roof is not a covered loss under a property insurance policy which specifically covers hail damage. A federal appellate court decision issued last week1 helps put an end to these crazy attempts by insurance company lawyers that argue virtually anything … Continue Reading
If you are a Public Adjuster or Roofing Contractor working in the property damage insurance claim industry, you no doubt have been seeing more and more hailstorm/windstorm claims in recent years. In researching some of the many issues surrounding these claims for my presentation at the recent Windstorm Insurance Conference, several challenges seemed to consistently … Continue Reading
Along with many of my Merlin Law Group colleagues, I will be attending the Windstorm Insurance Conference at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans January 19-22, 2015. If you are an avid reader of this blog, you likely already know that the annual Windstorm Insurance (WIND) Conference provides a forum for review and discussion of … Continue Reading
Property insurance policies cover physical damage to property. Cosmetic damage has traditionally been paid if the damage is greater than the deductible. Lately, some ingenious insurance company lawyers are wrongfully arguing that their stingy insurance company claims managers are correctly not paying for cosmetic damage.… Continue Reading
After the widespread damage from recent and repeated hailstorms in Nebraska, we are receiving reports that insurance carriers are neither properly investigating the damage nor timely paying claims. Much like the claims we see from last year's Oklahoma tornadoes, we caution policyholders to read their insurance policy and pay particular attention to the "Filing Suit Against Us" provision.… Continue Reading
For the second time in less than three years, Abilene, Texas, has been pummeled by a severe hailstorm. The Insurance Council of Texas estimates that insured losses from Abilene’s June 12, 2014, hailstorm will exceed $400 million in insured losses to vehicles, homes, and commercial property.1 The storm moved directly south across Abilene pounding the … Continue Reading
As an update to our Oklahoma Coverage Series, we give this video report on the types of claims we’ve seen and that have been further reported to us. As you’ll see, the damages and the carrier valuations run the gamut of one extreme to the other.… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania experienced an intense hail storm at the end of May. The storm damage from one day in 2014 was worse than the average year of hail damage for the Keystone State. Merlin Law Group knows that insurance companies should promptly and properly respond to hail claims, but all too often we see these claims … Continue Reading
Insurance adjusters are taught to investigate coverage and evaluate damage. Good faith performance requires that this be done in a prompt, thorough, and honest manner. Most adjusters are taught to document what they see in the field through photographs, video, and the collection of evidence. Good faith also requires that the adjusters undertaking this important … Continue Reading
Steve Badger gets the 2014 Insurance Defense Attorney Macho Man Award. His works, What The Hail Is Going On In Texas?,1 and The Emerging Hail Risk: What The Hail Is Going On?,2 have envious insurance defense attorneys complaining that they have been slow to address the needed “tough guy” for the insurance industry, and others … Continue Reading
Many Coloradans suffered damages due to the horrific hail storm on June 6, 2012. One person said it looked like Christmas in June because the golf ball size hail was so big and thick that it looked like snow. Numerous homes and buildings were bombarded by hail and severely damaged. Some people filed claims with … Continue Reading
Over the last few days, major weather systems across the country produced violent hail storms resulting in significant property damage in many areas including Denver and Reading, Pennsylvania.… Continue Reading
