In a previous post, Insurance Company Acting in Bad Faith? Pennsylvania Protects Policyholders if Facts Are Plead, I discussed the importance of Pennsylvania’s insurance bad faith statute1 and how insurers routinely attempt to avoid litigating the substance of those bad faith claims by filing motions to dismiss alleging pleading deficiencies. Recently, the District Court for … Continue Reading
Policyholders need insurance laws which protect them if their insurance company delays, denies or wrongfully adjusts their claim. Attorneys have long recognized that insurance law is a specialized niche area of the law with strange nuances. Attorneys not dedicated to this field of law may fail to appreciate or may even miss small but important … Continue Reading
Join Robert Trautmann and myself, on February 16, 2018, at 2:00 pm for a free one-hour webinar to discuss the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s recent decision in Rancosky v. Washington National Insurance Company,1 which upheld the current bad faith standards and specifically noted that an insured need not prove malicious intent to prevail on a … Continue Reading
Sometimes when researching one issue, a case will pop up that isn’t what we were looking for, but nonetheless is worthy of note. While I was trying to help a public adjuster with some case law research the other day, I came across this gem out of Pennsylvania. Back in 1991 the Superior Court of … Continue Reading
In Pennsylvania, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8371 permits an insured to recover punitive damages, court costs, attorney’s fees and interest, on claims where an insurer has acted in bad faith. On September 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued a ruling1 upholding the current bad faith standards and specifically noting that an insured does not … Continue Reading
A recent class action lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania1 raised an issue that policyholder advocates and public adjusters see all over the country – insurers that try to exclude overhead and profit from property damage claim payments made on an actual cash value basis.… Continue Reading
At the request from a reader, Part Three of my blog series on Assignments of Benefits (“AOBs”) will look at Pennsylvania and whether AOBs are valid and enforceable there.… Continue Reading
On November 22, 2016, Judge Berle M. Schiller from the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued his Opinion and Order in Payne v. Allstate Insurance Company, granting summary judgment to Allstate and awarding them $25,000 in damages, after finding that the Plaintiff made material misrepresentations while securing the homeowners policy.… Continue Reading
The next stop in our 50-state tour of claims handling requirments is the Keystone State. While New Jersey and Pennsylvania may have a bit of rivalry (Giants v. Eagles or Pennsylvania drivers in the left lane, for example). Their claims handling requirements are somewhat similar.… Continue Reading
I previously wrote about the grounds to set aside an appraisal award in Pennsylvania. Now that we have discussed the grounds upon which the award may be vacated, the next question is the procedure.… 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
It was an exciting down to the wire finish on Monday night for the NCAA basketball championship. Congratulation to Villanova! This week my blog in the series on calculating actual cash value will focus on Pennsylvania.… Continue Reading
On April 15, 2015, Erie Insurance, a Pennsylvania based insurance provider, received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) to utilize drones in their claims handling process.… Continue Reading
In property insurance coverage disputes, whether or not someone is considered an “Insured” depends on a variety of factors. The first step is to look to the language of the governing insurance policy to see how an “Insured” is defined. Often, however, the answer to this question turns on the facts surrounding any given claim … Continue Reading
Here is an interesting question; can a policyholder assign their bad faith claim to someone else? I will discuss several states’ laws on this issue in upcoming posts. Recently the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said yes they can.1… Continue Reading
Usually policyholders are left with the option of suing their insurance carriers for breach of contract and bad faith, however a recent ruling in Pennsylvania opens up the door for policyholders to sue for negligence as well. The case is Bruno v. Erie Ins. Co., No 25 WAP 2013 (Pa. Dec. 15, 2014).… Continue Reading
In a recent Memorandum Order out of the Western District of Pennsylvania, Selmek v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company,1 a State Farm adjuster requested that the insured assist her in inspecting a damaged roof and securing it from further damage. Carl and Amy Selmeks’ home and detached garage (located 100 yards away from the … Continue Reading
Immediate knowledge of a loss is never guaranteed. For example, many northeastern residents winter down south and they may go months without visiting one of their properties. What happens if during one of those periods their property is damaged and they don’t find out until months later?… Continue Reading
Earlier this week, I was in Austin, Texas, attending a deposition with Chip Merlin on a hail damage claim. Texas is known for their barbeque so we decided to try out The County Line BBQ on Lake Austin. If you are in Austin, I highly recommend it. This led me to today’s blog topic – … Continue Reading
We frequently field requests from public adjusters and clients concerning appraisal and scope of damages. The situation arises when appraisal is demanded by the insured and the carrier objects, arguing that appraisal is only for issues of price and cannot be invoked unless there is an agreed upon scope of damage. This notion was soundly … 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
As my colleague, Denise Sze, pointed out in her recent blog post, “When Does a ‘Date of Loss’ Actually Manifest in California,” for both the policyholders and the attorneys representing them, the statute of limitations of a claim is extremely important. In Pennsylvania, Title 42 Pa.C.S.A. §5225, sets the limitations on time for bringing suit … Continue Reading
