It is amusing and almost stunning to find others who used to be young attorney “rookies” in this field of property insurance law become masters. John Garaffa of Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, is now a master in this field of law. He captured the room of property insurance law lawyers with what would normally be … Continue Reading
In this episode we’re headed to Rhode Island, the Ocean State, to define insurable interests. Rhode Island case law on the issue dates back to the 1800’s. In Cronin v. Vermont Life Insurance Company, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that to recover on an insurance policy one needed an insurable interest.1 Rhode Island … Continue Reading
As I write this post, I’m on a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a Merlin Law Group seminar. I’ve been to Nevada before on several occasions, but this will be the first time to Las Vegas! It seems only fitting that in this episode we’re traveling to Nevada, the Silver State, to define insurable … Continue Reading
In this week’s episode of my continuing blog series, we travel to California to see how the Golden State defines Insurable Interests. Spoiler Alert: You need to read the policy!… Continue Reading
A few weeks ago I traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona for a deposition. After the deposition concluded, I had a little bit of time before my flight home, so I stopped by Papago State Park in Phoenix to take in some of Arizona’s beauty and to take a few photographs (including the one above). This week … Continue Reading
In the Second Episode of my blog series on insurable interests, we travel to Pennsylvania—my home away from home—to determine how the Keystone State defines insurable interest.… Continue Reading
An extremely important, yet sometimes overlooked issue concerning property insurance claims is whether the person or entity making the claim has an insurable interest in that property. This blog is the first in a series which will discuss a state-by-state breakdown of exactly who or what holds an insurable interest in that state. This first … Continue Reading
The systematic process of analyzing a property insurance policy has been a topic in my last three seminars before public adjusting groups. I am suggesting a methodology so issues are uncovered early following a loss. After having all paperwork in place, I suggest that the first item to consider is "who" is insured under the … Continue Reading
After my last blog about insurable interests according to California case law, I received a request to research and present the same topic under Florida case law. Specifically I noted that home purchasers may not have proper insurance policies when they purchase homes with deeds held in trusts, corporations, or other business entities such as … Continue Reading
In California, we see a lot of claims where investors or wealthy buyers purchase homes held in trusts, corporations or other business entities such as the LLC (limited liability company). Often, investors or buyers do this to protect their assets. However, the irony is that it is exactly in these scenarios that homeowners find they … Continue Reading
In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals addressed whether a homeowners’ property insurance policy was rendered void after the insureds lost the home in foreclosure, yet continued to reside in the home and suffered a loss.1… Continue Reading
Last week, I discussed the concept of insurable interest in Florida and the effect of a foreclosure judgment on a party’s insurable interest in property. Let’s continue the discussion of insurable interest this week. Does a property management company have an insurable interest in commercial property which it manages but does not own?… Continue Reading
Can an insurance company waive a defense based on lack of insurable interest by accepting premiums for the policy and issuing it? It may depend on the jurisdiction you are in. If the insurance company issued the policy and accepted the premiums even though it should have known its customer did not have an insurable … Continue Reading
When considering an insurable interest question in an insurance claim, there are two important times to look at: when the policy is issued and the time of loss. This is because the policyholder must have an insurable interest at the time the insurance policy is taken out and at the time of loss. A Florida … Continue Reading
Continuing the discussion last week on the importance of having an insurable interest in property to pursue a claim, I came across a New York case involving an “insurable interest” clause in an insurance policy with a different outcome from the New York case discussed last week in my post, One Can Have An Insurable Interest In … Continue Reading
The concept of an insurable interest in property insurance claims is a very important one. Without an insurable interest, you cannot recover damages in a claim. But the concept of the insurable interest does not always follow the legal concept of title. Having title, ownership, occupancy and responsibility for all expenses related to a property … Continue Reading
Recently, I received a question from a public insurance adjuster who asked, “what happens to my client’s claim if he is listed as the named insured but does not own the property?”… Continue Reading
Usually when a person buys a home or business, it is assumed that the purchaser or owner has an insurable interest in the property. However, when it comes to property insurance, the insured doesn’t always have to be the owner of the property. In fact, there are many other persons or entities that may have … Continue Reading
Ownership of business personal property is required to trigger coverage and payment after a loss under most business income loss provisions. Notwithstanding this general rule, an insured may recover for a loss without necessarily having title to business personal property, so long as the insured can establish that it had an insurable interest in the … Continue Reading
Do you have to be named on a property insurance policy to enforce it? The answer in Florida is “no,” so long as you have an insurable interest in the policy.… Continue Reading
The first chapter of my Insurance Law textbook from law school was about the history of insurance. It set the stage for the next chapter on the insurable interest, one of the fundamental principles in insurance law. The term “insurable interest” is actually quite self-explanatory. In order to obtain insurance on something, one must have … Continue Reading
An excellent post by Brandon McWherter, of the Tennessee Insurance Litigation Blog, correctly noted an important point regarding insurable interest and title. The general rule is that title is not necessary to establish an insurable interest in property.… Continue Reading
Following up on Sunday’s post, The Insurance Checklist–Insurable Interest and Address of the Risk, and while waiting for the politicians to decide how much our rates may go up in the following year, as indicated in yesterday’s post, A Big Week for Texas and Florida Politics of Insurance, here are some cases that explain insurable … Continue Reading
