The Week in FCPA-Episode 67, the Post Harvey Edition
I-14: Update on EEO-1 and I-9 Forms, Employer Obligations After a Hurricane or Other Natural Disaster, and Attorney Jason Barsanti on Meal and Rest Breaks
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s recent opinion in Majestic Oil, Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London Subscribing to Policy Number W1B527170201, No. 21-20542 (5th Cir. Mar. 17, 2023),...more
Just over five years ago, on August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with wind gusts in excess of 130 mph. The storm produced more than four days of torrential rain: in the aggregate, in...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a federal Texas court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the insured, holding that its “deductible buyback policy” was a “named perils” policy that did not...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, in the matter of Evanston Ins. Co. v. AmSpec Holding Corp., granted summary judgment in favor of Evanston Insurance Company (“Evanston”) after determining...more
Almost two years after Hurricane Harvey devastated parts of Texas and Louisiana, Central America, and several Caribbean islands, the coverage issues arising out of it are far from resolved. The court decisions addressing...more
Commercial Property and Business Interruption insurance policies customarily include suit limitations clauses to protect the insurer against lawsuits. These clauses may be found buried amid general conditions in the property...more
Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog LLP is closely monitoring Hurricane Florence and hopes that everyone in the state is taking the proper precautions to plan and protect themselves from this storm....more
The Texas Windstorm insurance Association (TWIA) has announced that its board of directors at its May 8, 2018 meeting approved a $175 million member assessment linked to losses arising from Hurricane Harvey. The assessed...more
As Texas continues to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the extent of the damage Harvey left in its wake is just now being realized. To date, private insurers have seen more than 670,000 property insurance claims...more
Just as the Texas coast assessed the magnitude of Hurricane Harvey’s damage, Hurricane Irma was taking shape in the Atlantic. Fewer than two weeks later, Irma would crash into the Florida Keys. Estimates put Harvey and Irma’s...more
In January 2018, the Texas Department of Insurance (“TDI”) presented Hurricane Harvey data to the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee. After the hurricane, TDI requested monthly reports from the insurance industry,...more
At its recent December 11th meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas, the Governing Committee of the Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA) is reported to have approved an assessment for its insurance company members of over $64 million...more
The 2017 United States Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ended on November 30, was the most expensive ever according to one report. Disaster modelers Chuck Watson and Mark Johnson concluded that total damages for...more
As businesses and insurers recover from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, it may take time to fully assess the effects of these storms on a business’s bottom line. Invariably, however, the scale of these...more
What is the status of funding for rebuilding after the recent disasters in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and what can we expect moving forward? After each of the big disasters that have...more
The Senate’s vote Tuesday to forgive $16 billion in debt owed by the National Flood Insurance Program gives a much-needed boost for NFIP as it faces large payouts from recent hurricanes. Packaged with other disaster aid...more
Recent damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have focused attention on special “named storm” and “hurricane” deductible endorsements found in most property insurance policies issued for coastal areas. Such...more
Bill Deron bought a 100-acre tract next to a creek outside the City of Houston. Deron planned to build a subdivision where some of the homes abut a creek. The other homes would sit about 15 feet higher than the creekside...more
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has cautioned insurers against improper underwriting activities in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Specifically, TDI issued Commissioner’s Bulletin # B-0032017 on September 21, 2017,...more
On September 15, 2017, the Texas Department of Insurance issued a public bulletin concerning possible insurance company reductions in business following Hurricane Harvey. In Commissioner’s Bulletin #B-0031-17, the Department...more
Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 major hurricane that made landfall in southern Texas on August 25, 2017. Harvey is the wettest tropical cyclone on record in the United States with peak accumulations of 64.58 inches. Harvey...more
Many commercial and residential property insurance claims arising from major hurricanes like Hurricane Harvey present damage caused by multiple causes of loss, some of which may be covered (e.g., wind) and some of which may...more
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season is already one of the most devastating in history. In late August, Harvey struck at the heart of Houston, Texas, and dropped 51.88 inches of rainfall in Texas, the highest rainfall total to...more
This hurricane season has packed a powerful punch to the south and southeastern United States and Caribbean Islands, causing widespread devastation that could take years to overcome and will surely have ripple effects...more
Not since Katrina in 2005 have the mainland United States and U.S. Territory islands been witness to a Category 5 storm that resulted in widespread and costly devastation. Now, first Harvey, then Irma and Maria. What does...more