Whether residential or commercial, most property coverage policies exclude loss caused by freezing, unless the insured either: Uses reasonable or best efforts to maintain heat in the building; or drains the plumbing lines. Application of this freezing exclusion, however, often turns on interpreting or defining what the terms “reasonable,” “best efforts,” and “building” mean.… Continue Reading
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a policy’s exclusionary language did not apply to an insured’s previously denied water loss.… Continue Reading
Replacement cost insurance generally allows recovery for the actual value of property at the time of loss, without deduction for deterioration, obsolescence, and similar depreciation of the property’s value. Depending on the circumstances, the difference between the actual cash value and the replacement cost value of a loss can be significant.… Continue Reading
I commonly get asked coverage questions that relate to a commercial client’s claim for damages. My response is always the same, “send me the policy and I will take a look.” I know this sounds obvious but with the multitude of policies out there it is impossible to relate a policy to a factual situation … Continue Reading
Navigating the Mighty Mississippi and the English language have quite a bit in common. Sometimes it takes a lot of skill and creativity to get where you want to go. Due to a recent dispute in Continental Insurance Co. v. L&L Marine Transportation, Inc.,1 regarding the meaning of the undefined policy term “tow” and the … Continue Reading
A court in Georgia found coverage for a loss based on the presence of a semicolon. In the case Lee v. Mercury Insurance Company,1 the court found coverage for a home destroyed by fire based on the potential ambiguity created by a semicolon.… Continue Reading
Many property insurance policies have a provision that states something similar to the following: “we do not insure…for loss…caused by…constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water…over a period of 14 or more days.” Insureds may find their claims for water loss under their homeowners’ policy denied on the grounds that the leak was present … Continue Reading
A common theme I have noticed lately is the tendency of homeowners, having just weathered a major natural disaster, to compare their ability to recover insurance proceeds to that of their neighbors. Wondering if you can recover alternative living expenses? Curious to know if you can recover for your sewage back-up claim? Rather than looking … Continue Reading
Section 708.1.1 of the Florida Building Code, often referred to as the “25% Rule,” implements guidelines for roof replacement requirements. The section states, Not more than 25 percent of the total roof area or roof section of any existing building or structure shall be repaired, replaced or recovered in any 12-month period unless the entire … Continue Reading
I recently received a call from a frustrated homeowner following a fire that broke out in his family home while they were out to dinner. The despair he felt about the property damage was exacerbated by the fact that he was having trouble with his mortgage company releasing payments for the repairs. The homeowner wanted … Continue Reading
It is no secret that insurance policies are confusing: they are long – often 40 or more pages – and contain vague language that can be unclear and difficult to understand, even for the most educated people. After large scale natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey, insurance companies and their adjusters frequently rely on vague and … Continue Reading
After a loss, a policyholder has a duty to take necessary measures to protect the property from further damage resulting from a covered peril. The question then becomes what costs associated with the emergency mitigation services are covered and is there a cap?… Continue Reading
After events such as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, where insurance contracts will be disputed under both federal and state law, one of the many challenges will be that most contracts or insurance policies are written in Spanish. Translation will be essential to establish the accurate coverage of what is included or excluded from the … Continue Reading
An Illinois homeowner recently contacted me regarding an insurer’s denial of a water damage claim. The facts were: An underground pipe which was part of a municipal water supply system (“the water main”) burst and water was released from the water main. The pressure from the water cracked the street pavement and water flowed onto … Continue Reading
Many homeowners buy their insurance policy, read it over, then stick it in a drawer with other important documents until it’s needed again. The policy could sit in that drawer for years. Meanwhile, that policy may change as often as twice a year.… Continue Reading
The saying goes like this, “Say what you mean, and mean what you say.” We all know the business of contract construction is no easy task. But underwriters should go the extra mile to ensure a property insurance policy reads as the carrier intends or steep consequences may ensue. Something as minor as a misplaced … Continue Reading
While I often argue that depreciating labor simply does not make sense, insurers continue to push the question of whether the depreciation of labor costs in Actual Cash Value policies is acceptable. Though several jurisdictions have rejected the depreciation of labor, surprisingly, the recent trend of jurisdictions touching upon the subject has been to allow … Continue Reading
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently held that Minnesota Statute §549.09 does not require an underlying breach of contractor or actionable wrongdoing to recover preaward interest on an insurance appraisal award in Poehler v. Cincinnati Insurance Company.1… Continue Reading
As discussed in my blog post last week, the 1943 New York Standard Fire Policy (“the Standard Fire Policy”), or a statutory version differing from it only slightly, is used in many states. The Standard Fire Policy potentially affords insureds more fire coverage than they may otherwise have, given the limited number of provisions which … Continue Reading
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s opinion this week in Streit v. Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company,1 is a major victory for policyholders in Illinois. There, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the lower court judgment entered in favor of my clients, Wesley and Barbara Streit, arising out of Metropolitan’s failure to cover a fire loss to their … Continue Reading
It is not unusual when reading an insurance policy to discover that it contains certain language and then when you continue reading, you discover there is an “endorsement” that says something entirely different.… Continue Reading
In an unpublished decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently used extrinsic evidence to interpret the meaning of “direct supplier” in the context of a commercial property loss.1 I previously blogged about this case in 9th Circuit to Interpret Meaning of “Direct Supplier” In Context of a Commercial Property Loss Claim.… Continue Reading
Insurance provisions related to explosions, like all other terms, are subject to the rules of construction applied to all insurance contracts. Typically, property damage caused by explosions is covered under the policy. However, some policies may expressly define the term “explosion” to exclude events that would generally be defined as such.1 For instance, policies may … Continue Reading
In 2012, the Barnard Elementary School Building (“Barnard Building”) in Tulsa, Oklahoma sustained approximately $6 million in fire damage in 2012. There were two insurance policies covering the same policy period: (1) a policy issued by Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company (“Philadelphia”) to the Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences for coverage of the building it … Continue Reading
