While working on a condominium’s Hurricane Wilma claim this week, I had the opportunity to discuss numerous aspects of insurance adjusting with two adjusters who have more than 40 years combined experience working only for insurance carriers. Thankfully, these individuals have seen the light and now work for policyholders, but their insight into the claims process is invaluable.
Continue Reading...The City of Bradenton, Florida, sent a letter to all thirty-six units of a condominium building, stating that the six year old building had been found unsafe by the city fire marshal. The city ordered the residents to move out within seven days. To paraphrase one of the residents living in the building; imagine coming home to your condominium thinking about your evening or the weekend ahead, and then finding out that you only have seven days to move out and find a place to live.
Continue Reading...What happens when a condominium or homeowners association enters into a settlement agreement with an insurance company and later finds out that the settlement was not enough or was fraudulently induced? That is exactly what happened in California in the case of Village Northridge Homeowners Ass’n v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 237 P.3d 598 (Cal. 2010).
Continue Reading...Although Florida has not seen a major hurricane touch its shores since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation may be raising rates on many of its policyholders. Earlier this month, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty approved additional rate increases that will affect thousands of insureds, including many condominium associations.
Continue Reading...Recently, the Third District Court of Appeals issued an opinion reversing a summary judgment that had been entered in favor of an insurer in a case involving a condominium association’s hurricane damage claim. I wanted to write about the case because it is an interesting ruling related to the topic of an insurer’s late notice of a “supplemental” claim defense, which is a topic that Jeremy Tyler and I have written about previously.
Continue Reading...In a previous post, Failing to Obtain Regular Appraisals Can Hurt Associations After A Large Loss, I wrote about the negative effect that a coinsurance provision can have on an association’s ability to recover after a large loss. Equally as problematic, almost all policies issued in Florida contain a separate deductible which applies only in the event of hurricane damage. Instead of a small deductible, most “Hurricane Deductibles” are based on a percentage of the policy limits. These deductibles vary, depending on the policy and the association’s choices when purchasing the policy, and they can rise as high as 10%.
Continue Reading...A few weeks back, David Thompson, with the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA), wrote on the FAIA web site about “The Dirty Dozen” condominium insurance exclusions. Anyone who has access to the FAIA web site should definitely give it a read.
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At Merlin Law Group, P.A., our mission is to provide efficient and effective legal counsel, service, and advocacy to insurance policyholders and claimants.More...
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