Dispute Over Actual Cash Value, Replacement Cost Value, and Inclusion of Law...
The difference between Actual Cash Value (“ACV”) and Replacement Cash Value (“RCV”), and whether increased costs to comply with building codes are part of RCV can be significant in cases involving a...
View ArticlePrompt Notice and Timely Proof of Loss Requirements Deemed Conditions...
Typical property policies require the insured to cooperate with the insurer in the investigation of the claim, and specifically require the insured to submit a sworn proof of loss, provide timely...
View ArticleLate Notice Under Property Insurance Policy in Florida: Failure to Promptly...
We have seen several recent cases in Florida addressing prompt notice requirements in property policies, many of which are related to Hurricane Wilma claims. This latest decision by the Fourth District...
View ArticleAppraiser Determined to Be “Interested As a Matter of Law” by Federal Court
When the amount of damages for a loss is in dispute, typical property policies allow either the insured or the insurer to invoke the appraisal process. In general, the purpose of the appraisal...
View ArticleEnsuing Loss in New York: Fourth Department Addresses Exception to Water...
Typically, disputes over ensuing loss provisions focus on whether the “secondary” loss complained of is actually separate and distinct from the excluded loss, or whether the “secondary” loss is...
View ArticleLouisiana Bad Faith Statutes: Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal Finds...
Some jurisdictions impose specific requirements on insurance companies regarding timely payment of undisputed amounts or amounts due after a settlement agreement is reached. Some jurisdictions impose...
View ArticleLate Notice and Prejudice: Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal Finds...
Late notice issues have been cropping up consistently in the Florida appellate courts in the context of Hurricane Wilma claims being reported years after the storm. The latest decision, Slominski v....
View ArticleInsurance Departments of Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island Issue...
Connecticut, Maryland, and Rhode Island Insurance Departments have issued bulletins regarding hurricane deductibles with respect to insurance claims due to Sandy: Connecticut On October 30, 2012, the...
View ArticleEarth Movement Exclusion Bars Coverage for Loss Caused by Excavation Per New...
In Bentoria Holdings, Inc. v Travelers Indem. Co., 2012 N.Y. LEXIS 3087 (N.Y. Oct. 25, 2012), Travelers denied first-party property coverage for cracking to the insured’s property that occurred due to...
View ArticleRhode Island Issues Bulletin Requiring Insurers to Provide Regular Summary...
On November 5, 2012, the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation, Insurance Division (“Department”) issued Insurance Bulletin 2012-4, which can be viewed in the list of bulletins here. The...
View ArticleAttorney Fees Not Recoverable Under Bi-Economy and Panasia According to New...
In 2008, the New York Court of Appeals decided the companion cases of Bi-Economy Market, Inc. v. Harleysville Ins. Co., 10 N.Y. 3d 187) (2008) and Panasia Estates, Inc. v. Hudson Insurance Co., 10 N.Y....
View ArticleEnsuing Loss Provision Not Triggered Where Water Damage Caused Deterioration:...
Ensuing loss clauses can be a common source of litigation when insureds argue that part or all of the loss is purportedly caused by some event occurring subsequent to the excluded cause of loss. We...
View ArticleStorm Sandy: New York Requires Accelerated Claims Investigation, and Allows...
On November 29, 2012, the Superintendent of New York State’s Department of Financial Services issued a Twelfth Amendment to Insurance Regulation 64, which amends Section 216.5(a). Most significantly,...
View ArticlePolicy Language Determined Ambiguous Despite Anti-Concurrent Causation...
Most states enforce anticoncurrent causation provisions, as we have described in our summary of such provisions. Recently, the Court of Appeals of the State of Oregon determined that a policy was...
View ArticleMissouri Valued Policy Law Inapplicable to Tornado Losses: Missouri Federal...
Some jurisdictions have what is known as a valued policy law (“VPL”), which typically provides that in the case of a total loss, the insurer is required to pay the full policy limit regardless of the...
View ArticleWhen is an Appraisal Demand Premature? Southern District of Florida Addresses...
Biscayne Cove Condominium Association, Inc. v. QBE Ins. Corp., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5194 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 14, 2013), involved a Hurricane Wilma property coverage dispute at a condominium complex. In...
View ArticleSworn Proof of Loss is a Condition Precedent, and Presumption of Prejudice...
As we have indicated in prior blog posts on the Soronson and Slominski cases, late notice issues have been cropping up consistently in the Florida appellate courts in the context of Hurricane Wilma...
View ArticleNew Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance Unveils Mandatory Mediation...
On March 26, 2013, New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance (“Department”) issued a significant new Hurricane Sandy-related order that will affect nearly all insurers doing business in the...
View ArticleBoston Bombings: Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance Issues Bulletin...
On April 25, 2013, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance (“DOI”) issued a bulletin offering “guidance and recommendations” regarding the handling of insurance claims, premium payments, and...
View ArticleConnecticut Property Insurance Mediation Law Enacted: Insurance Department...
Last week, Connecticut’s Governor signed into law Public Act 13-148, titled “An Act Establishing A Mediation Program For Certain Insurance Policy Claims and Concerning Requirements for Persons...
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