On July 17, 2023, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) released an informational memorandum to notify authorized residential property insurers of a new requirement pursuant to Senate Bill 7052, which is now...more
For going on five months, the United States has been dealing with the difficult impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted daily lives and sometimes devastated businesses. In looking for sources of economic...more
Over the last month, there have been numerous lawsuits across the country by policyholders seeking insurance coverage for losses they claim are resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the last two weeks, the new trend has...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the world, altering every aspect of daily life — whether it be a morning trip to the gym, a day at the office, a dinner at the Italian restaurant across the street, or a Friday night concert in...more
In a few short weeks following the COVID-19 outbreak in China, the world turned upside down. As governments scramble to contain the spread of the virus, the impact on individuals and businesses is just beginning. Inevitably,...more
Insurance policies are designed to indemnify an insured by putting the policyholder in the same position he or she would have been in had no loss occurred. In the context of property insurance policies, damaged property is...more
As we have reported, an assignment of benefits (AOB) is a legal tool that allows a third party, like a contractor, to be paid for services performed, like repairs following an insured loss, for an insured property owner who...more
An assignment of benefits (AOB) is a legal tool that allows a third party to be paid for services performed for an insured property owner who would normally be reimbursed by the insurance company directly after making a...more
In ACE American Ins. Co. v. Exide Technologies, Inc. and The Wattles Co., No. 1:16-CV-1600-MHC (N.D. Ga. Sept. 20, 2017), the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia applied a continuous trigger theory to...more
10/10/2017
/ All-Risks Insurance ,
Breach of Contract ,
Continuous Trigger Theory ,
Damages ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Negligence ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Proximate Cause
As the waters recede from Hurricane Irma, there are many issues for property insurers to consider as they adjust claims in Florida, including unique issues raised by assignment of benefits, Florida law on concurrent...more
9/26/2017
/ Assignment of Benefits (AOB) ,
Farms ,
Fire Damage ,
Flood Insurance ,
Florida ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Natural Disasters ,
Policy Terms ,
policy-term ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Real Estate Market ,
Severe Weather ,
Wind Damage
As the waters recede from Hurricane Irma, property insurers have many issues to consider as they adjust claims in Florida. This alert discusses a few of those issues.
Claims Reporting -
The Florida Office of Insurance...more
9/26/2017
/ Assignment of Benefits (AOB) ,
Farms ,
Fire Damage ,
Flood Insurance ,
Florida ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Natural Disasters ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Real Estate Market ,
Severe Weather ,
Wind Damage
Because Hurricane Harvey claims may be taking you and your colleagues to different states, we thought it might be helpful to bear in mind the claims adjusting standards and regulations in those states that will likely be...more
In Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Company v. Chaber, No. 16-0490 (W. Va. June 1, 2017), the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed a lower court’s decision, holding that damage caused by a landslide was...more
Courts will generally uphold reasonable suit limitation periods in property insurance policies, if the insurer does not affirmatively waive or extend them. In MZM Real Estate Corp. v. Tower Ins. Co. of New York, No....more
In the wake of the March 30 collapse of the I-85 bridge in Atlanta, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency calling for closure of both the northbound and southbound lanes of I-85 in Fulton County. A copy...more
4/3/2017
/ Bridges ,
Business Interruption ,
Civil Authority Coverage ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Ingress/Egress ,
Insurance Industry ,
Loss of Income ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Insurance ,
State of Emergency ,
Transportation Corridor
It’s said that “defeat is an orphan,” but insurable losses often have multiple, concurrent causes. In some cases, one or more of those causes might be outside the scope of coverage, either by omission or exclusion. In Sebo v....more
12/5/2016
/ All-Risks Insurance ,
Appeals ,
Construction Defects ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
FL Supreme Court ,
Florida ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Limits ,
Policy Terms ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Severe Weather ,
Toxic Mold
Because Hurricane Matthew claims may be taking you and your colleagues to several different states, we thought it might be helpful to bear in mind the different claims adjusting standards and regulations in those states that...more
As this blog has reported, exclusions and limits for flood coverage have generally held up against the tide of claims arising from Superstorm Sandy. Now that the water is gone, however, new losses have been discovered, and...more
9/26/2016
/ All-Risks Insurance ,
Amtrak ,
Demolition ,
Flood Insurance ,
Flooding ,
Hurricane Sandy ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Natural Disasters ,
Policy Limits ,
Property Damage ,
Property Insurance ,
Railways ,
Severe Weather ,
Summary Judgment ,
Transportation Industry
A recent article in the Sports section of The Miami Herald read “Shooting coach helps Winslow.” Perhaps, but it probably didn’t help the coach much. The admonition to “eat every carrot and pea on your plate” undoubtedly...more
9/12/2016
/ Airports ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
PCBs ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Policy Terms ,
Pollution Exclusion ,
Summary Judgment
An insured corporation settles a class action, and a portion of the settlement pays the plaintiffs’ attorneys. Payments to the class are excluded from coverage under the terms of the corporation’s liability policy. But can...more
7/18/2016
/ ATMs ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Class Action ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Indemnification ,
Insurance Industry ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Overdraft Fees ,
PNC ,
Qualified Settlement Funds ,
Settlement Agreements
When a property insurance policy covers a multi-story building or multi-building property, and a portion sustains damage, there is often a question regarding the extent to which undamaged property should be replaced to ensure...more
The land in Florida is prone to sinking and insurance companies must often scramble for solid footing on which to anchor the scope of coverage for sinkhole losses. In Hegel v. First Liberty Insurance Corporation (11th Cir....more
Last month, in In re Deepwater Horizon, Relator, the Supreme Court of Texas applied a fundamental principle of insurance law to a case with enormous financial implications. The owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig had...more
Property damage can be sudden and dramatic, but it can also be subtle and insidious, and that can make it hard to identify the moment when properly coverage is implicated. As a result, courts have recognized several...more
Liability policies typically provide coverage for amounts the insured “become[s] legally obligated to pay”—but they leave open the question of how that obligation should be determined. Judgments and settlements clearly...more