Shane Smith wrote about a big policyholder win against Allstate in this weekend’s post, Another Court Ruling on Improper Depreciation of Labor. Today, the same Court of Appeals ruled the same way against State Farm.1
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Another Court Ruling on Improper Depreciation of Labor
On March 18, 2020, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Perry v. Allstate Indemnity Company,1 ruling as a matter of law that it was improper for Allstate to depreciate labor costs.
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Coronavirus Insurance Coverage Update—United Policyholders Says Do Not Give Up While Georgia Insurance Commissioner Suggests Do Not Waste Your Time
The comments, posts, and articles about whether property insurance coverage benefits will exist are all over the place on the internet. An example of two opposing views come from Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner versus the advice from United Policyholders.
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Storage Space and Dry Cleaning—Can These Be Considered Additional Living Expenses Under A Homeowners Policy?
Additional living expenses can create a number of questions about what items of expanse can be claimed following a loss. FC&S is a publication I encourage those in the claims business to subscribe. While reading the Question and Answer section of the FC&S Coverage Insider, the following additional living expense coverage question was posed:
Our insured has an ISO HO 3 policy, 1991 edition, and recently suffered a fire loss. Coverage for her home and contents is not at issue; however, she has had to relocate to a motel until restoration of her home is complete. Prior to the loss, she stored some of her personal property in half of her two-car garage. Because of the fire, she can no longer use this space until repairs have been completed.
The insurance company is questioning two items under additional living expense—the cost to rent a storage space, and the cost to dry clean the clothing she took with her.
We think this is additional living expense, and should be covered. What is your opinion?
Crazy New Policy Language? Report It To United Policyholders!
United Policyholders takes action and gets things done for policyholders regarding the insurance gap issue. United Policyholders is tackling the insurance gap coverage problem by providing staff and resources to collect rogue property insurance policy forms being issued by insurance companies, to show examples of how insurers are stepping over each other to silently gain a competitive advantage of lower price with cheap insurance.
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United Policyholders Has a Seat at the Table With Insurance Leaders and Takes Action to Stop the Insurance Protection Gap
The First Party Claims Conference in Providence, Rhode Island was very much a success. I was late to the event and missed hearing a presentation where a sponsor said that meeting with legislators and insurance regulators is a waste of time. Ironically, I was late because I was in Tallahassee testifying as an invited panelist to represent the policyholder’s viewpoint before the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. Obviously, I could not disagree more with this sponsor and I believe their viewpoint is simply wrong and dangerous. The one person and organization that has been taking action, getting pro-policyholder laws passed, and stopping bad proposed legislation with more success than anybody is Amy Bach of United Policyholders.
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Can You Help Just One of The Thousand Points of Light? Why We Should Help United Policyholders
Last night at the Thousand Points of Light banquet Garth Brooks stated, “If you do not have love in your life, you have to look at yourself about why” I became involved with this organization following Superstorm Sandy and still remain an active supporter because the basic philosophy is so fundamental to whom we should strive to be.
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Insuring To Value is a Difficult Underwriting Requirement Making Underinsured Structures Quite Common
Insuring to value is becoming an increasingly discussed topic with so many buildings underinsured. I noted this problem in a recent post, Do I Have Enough Insurance? Underinsured Homes Are Epidemic.
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The New Water Damage Limitation and Other Non-Traditional Coverage Gaps
Public adjuster Guy Cohen and I discussed various issues of property insurance and adjustment at a recent lunch. He raised a very serious topic of coverage gaps being created in the small print of property insurance policies which Florida insurance regulators are allowing to be sold. He thinks that these coverage gaps are the most serious issues facing insurance consumers. He is not alone.
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United Policyholders Files Amicus Brief on Overhead and Profit in Pennsylvania
Merlin Law Group previously blogged about Konrad Kurach v. Truck Insurance Exchange,1 where an appeal was recently filed at the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on this question:
Did the Superior Court err as a matter of law in finding that the limitation of payment of General Contractors Overhead and Profit from actual cash value in a replacement cost policy, although violative of binding precedent, was nonetheless valid and enforceable?
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