Out With a Bang: Current State of Play on Coverage for COVID-Related Losses
The Calm Before and After the Storm: How to Maximize Insurance Recovery for Catastrophic Weather Events
Protect Your Construction Project: Top 10 Insurance Provisions to Know
Filing Insurance Claims After the Texas Winter Storm
Subro Sense - The ABC's of RCV and ACV
K&L Gates Triage: Emergency Preparedness and Response in Long Term Care - Part II
What Money Damages Are Available In A Personal Injury Claim?
A federal court recently held that an insurer could not deny coverage under a homeowner’s policy based upon the failure of the named insured’s son, an “insured person,” to submit to an examination under oath (“EUO”). In...more
Long Island is especially beautiful in late summer and early autumn. The sizzling summer heat has started to fade, the leaves on the area’s stately trees are green, and the warm water temperatures continue to attract ...more
It is nearly impossible to watch any newscast without hearing an expert’s warning that 2022’s wildfire season is arriving early and going to be severe. This warning has come to fruition, especially in New Mexico, where in...more
On Friday, October 2, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara of the California Department of Insurance (“Department”) published a Notice addressed to and making several “requests,” detailed below, of both admitted and...more
It happens all the time – a water leak in a house or other building goes unnoticed for some period of time, and then mold appears. Insurance policies generally provide coverage to repair water damage, provided other policy...more
• The Florida Senate recently passed assignment of benefits (AOB) legislation that is expected to be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The bill is intended to bring much needed reform to the abused and litigious practice of...more
Most homeowners’ policies – and property insurance policies in general – contain a limited coverage extension for “collapse.” The interpretation of that collapse coverage has been litigated around the country for decades,...more
A federal judge in Connecticut recently dismissed claims against insurers related to their denial of a claim by two homeowners whose home’s foundation was crumbling. The case, Hyde v. Allstate Ins. Co., No. 3:18-cv-00031 (D....more
Vacancy exclusions are commonplace in many homeowner policies, and typically exclude coverage for certain types of losses if the home is vacant and/or unoccupied. Litigation involving vacancy exclusions can arise when terms...more
Many typical homeowner’s insurance policies contain an exclusion for damages as a result of freezing unless the homeowner uses “reasonable care” to maintain heat in the home....more
Nearly two years ago, a California appellate court invalidated a rule promulgated by the state’s Insurance Commissioner, on the ground that the regulator lacks authority to prohibit “deceptive acts or practices” which are not...more
In 2011, the California Insurance Commissioner promulgated a regulation governing replacement cost estimates for homeowners insurance (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 10, §2695.183 [the Regulation]). After the trial court and...more
The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut recently reaffirmed its ruling that the term “collapse,” as defined by a homeowners insurance policy, is unambiguous and that the policy in question did not...more
After tearing through the Caribbean, Hurricane Matthew’s path brought it north to the Southeastern coast of the U.S., bringing evacuations, business closures and damages to the region. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and...more
In Fontana Builders, Inc. v. Assurance Company of America, Case No. 2014AP821, 2016 WL 3526408 (Wis. Jun. 29, 2016), the Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed whether the purchase of a homeowner’s policy by the occupiers and...more
One coverage issue frequently arising under first-party property insurance policies entails a determination as to which party has the burden of proof to establish coverage, or to show the applicability and effect of a policy...more
Regular readers of the San Francisco Chronicle saw two familiar headlines in the September 10, 2015 issue of that paper. The first – “Northern California wildfire explodes in size”[1] – would not have been unusual on any...more
Two of this blog’s four rotating headers depict a hurricane and a fire as examples of potentially-destructive types of property damage, and the hurricane season (June through November) and the wildfire season (late spring...more
Effective in 2005, Florida statutes defined “sinkhole loss” to mean “structural damage to the building, including the foundation, caused by sinkhole activity,” and they left the all-important term “structural damage”...more
Class action litigation is spreading across the country involving the application of depreciation in calculating the actual cash value of property damage under homeowners and commercial property insurance policies. This blog...more
Half of the states in this country have now legalized marijuana for medical use, and that has led to a number of small-scale growing operations in policyholders’ homes. While not nearly as dangerous as cooking meth on the...more
Texas insurance carrier clients writing significant property insurance business in Texas all confirm a disturbing trend. Historically, Texas insurers have seen less than 2 percent of their property insurance claims result in...more
Back in May, 2014, parts of Berks and Lancaster counties were hit with a freak hail storm. With hail as large as tennis balls reported, homes and cars suffered significant damage. Hail damage is generally covered under auto...more
In Santacruz v. Allstate Texas Lloyds, Inc., 2014 WL 5870429 (Nov. 13, 2014), the 5th Circuit allowed a policyholder to pursue a claim for common law and statutory bad faith even though the policyholder repaired the alleged...more
Insurance, Sinkhole litigation -- Neither “Concealment or Fraud” nor “Duties After Loss” provision in homeowner’s insurance policy required insured to provide insurer with expert’s sinkhole damage analysis solicited by...more