In a catastrophic event like Hurricane Matthew, often insurance adjusters are spread thin with a large number of claims and time pressures to close claims. The insurance adjuster that comes to your home or business will likely not have the time to give your claim the attention it deserves. Even worse, personal property and business … Continue Reading
Greetings from my home in Boca Raton (smack dab in Hurricane Matthew’s path), just a few hours before the brunt of Hurricane Matthew is felt in Florida. I would be remiss if I did not impart a last minute tip that could save folks a whole heck of a lot of headache when insurance claims … Continue Reading
When the storms of 2004 and 2005 slammed Florida and the Southeast, policyholders had a duty to notify the carrier of the loss and sometimes things went wrong during these communications. Part of the problem was because many claims were just telephoned in and many of the carriers used untrained adjusters who did not have … Continue Reading
Supplemental claims are becoming more common, especially on large projects where additional loss and damage may be discovered while completing the repairs or replacement. But what happens when the insurance company places conditions or limitations not contained within the policy upon the submission of a supplemental claim for additional or missed damages?… Continue Reading
Note: This guest blog is by Curtis Hutchens, an AV Martindale Hubell preeminent lawyer, a Florida Supreme Court Certified Civil and County Court mediator, a qualified arbitrator and a Windstorm Insurance Network (WIND) Umpire and Fellow and serves as President of WIND. He also serves the legal community as a Florida Bar Grievance and Fee … Continue Reading
Depending on who you talk to, some would say that our economy has recovered or improved since the recent recession. However, there are many individuals—in particular, homeowners—who are in financial difficulty and have no option but to file for bankruptcy. If you are going through the bankruptcy process, and you have an insurance claim pending, … Continue Reading
In the first post of this series on social media, we listed various reasons the insurance company is searching your social media profile during a claim investigation to specifically address the non-claim related issues carriers are searching for in your tweets, posts, and check-ins. Click here to read Part I of this series.… Continue Reading
In California, there’s not a lot of case law specific on what an insurer must do for an insured after a loss regarding contents/ personal property claims. If a fire occurs or water loss, an insured is often place in a position where there their worldly possessions are ruin, destroyed, or in need of cleaning … Continue Reading
A major problem insureds regularly face after suffering a loss of any kind is documenting their contents claim. Most people do not keep receipts or detailed lists of all contents of their homes and proving proof of your lost contents can become very difficult. Even if you keep a list, it is entirely possible that … Continue Reading
Policyholders are human and social media has really become a way of life for the young and those in their golden years. Not surprisingly, homeowners and business owners suffering a loss, post about their problems on social media. But consider this: insurance companies are using information gathered from your social media profiles to look for … Continue Reading
After receiving lots of inspiring feedback from blog readers after my last post encouraging a call to action, I felt confident in continuing the series. Little did I know the next entry was right around the corner and originating from a similar scenario.… Continue Reading
When a home or a business is damaged by fire, the devastation that remains after the blaze and water suppression efforts is sometimes only ash. Policyholders around the country who have experienced a fire loss know this is a devastating experience that can change your life in a just a few short minutes.… Continue Reading
It is very common in first-party litigation for the policyholder to sue the in-state adjuster in addition to the out-of-state insurance company and thereby destroy diversity so the case remains in state court. The carrier will generally remove the case anyway and claim that the joinder of the adjuster is improper. In a very general … Continue Reading
I was discussing a property insurance claim with a colleague a few weeks ago when he mentioned a letter that was sent to an insured from the insurance carrier shortly after their public adjuster submitted his letter of representation. The letter suggested that the insured review the public adjuster’s contract and fee structure to make … Continue Reading
In my several years working at Merlin Law Group, I have seen my share of insurance claim denials. Sometimes the insurer makes the proper claim decision, sometimes they do not. I will be the first to say that not every case is a bad faith case.… Continue Reading
Many people may not know what reserves are. The reserve is money earmarked for the eventual claim payment. The claims reserve funds are set aside . . .… Continue Reading
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 … 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
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
Everybody deserves to be considered innocent of criminal conduct until proven guilty. That certainly was not how government officials responded to the arrest of a Florida public adjuster accused of inflating the benefits owed as a result of a fire claim.… Continue Reading
In practically every insurance policy, a policyholder is required to give prompt notice of the claim before the insurance company has any responsibility to act on the claim. What happens if the policyholder substantially delays in giving notice of the claim, or in some circumstances, fails to give notice altogether? Is the policyholder’s claim automatically … Continue Reading
When pursuing a claim with your insurer you should make sure the person you choose to assist you has the proper license to represent you. For property owners looking for help to file a claim it can be difficult to know exactly who has the right to speak to the insurance company on their behalf. … Continue Reading
