Condominium Insurance Law : Condo Insurance Lawyers & Attorneys : Merlin Law Group Law Firm : Tampa, Houston, Coral Gables & West Palm Beach

With so many recent disastrous events taking place across the United States it is important for associations, businesses and all policyholders to understand that in a property insurance claim, the devil is in the details. Hearing generalizations from insurance professionals about what may be covered and what may be excluded is not nearly enough when putting together a damage claim. The detail work is in the particular facts, documentation of the event and damage, and sometimes most importantly, the language of the policy at issue.

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Hurricane Irene appears to be affecting more people any other hurricanes in recent history. While storms like Wilma and Katrina devastated Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, Irene is forcing evacuations in no less than five states from the Carolinas to New York. After a storm, it is important to report damages early, even if you are unsure whether the amount of loss will exceed the deductible.

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Pollution exclusions in insurance policies are typically complex provisions that require a significant amount of legal analysis to apply correctly. Over the years, the body of law interpreting these exclusions has evolved into what is now a fairly narrow interpretation of what is and is not “pollution” under these exclusions. For example, in the case of MacKinnon v. Truck Ins. Exch., 73 P. 3d 1205 (Cal. 2003), the California Supreme Court limited a pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability (CGL) policy, holding that the exclusion only applied to “injuries arising from events commonly thought of as pollution, i.e., environmental pollution.”

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The issue of whether Florida’s legislative-created insurer, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, is, or should be, subject to damages for bad faith claims handling practices has been heavily debated by industry professionals during the last several years. Debbie Moroy, of ClaimSmentor, recently posted a comment to request an update on the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation v. San Perdido Association, Inc. case. In my Property Insurance coverage Law Blog post from October 18, 2010, titled Bad Faith Lawsuit Allowed to Proceed to Trial Against Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, I discussed an interesting turn of events on this issue. At that time, the First District Court of Appeal rejected Citizens’ request to stop a bad faith action against it from proceeding in the trial court.

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“All Risk” policies generally contain a plethora of exclusions that limit or bar coverage for many types of damage. For instance, if a loss is caused by wear and tear, deterioration or improper installation, many policies will specifically exclude payment. Fortunately for some, many commercial and residential insurance policies contain ensuing loss clauses that may afford coverage for damages resulting from one of these perils.

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Breaking and entering is never a laughing matter, but that didn’t stop TMZ from making Goldilocks and Marie Antoinette jokes after a NFL player found an intruder sleeping in his bed and eating his cake in his Miami Beach condominium.

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Last week in Can Insurers, Through Written Statements, Waive A Statute Of Limitations Defense?, I wrote about how Florida’s five-year statute of limitations applicable to the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes can be difficult to determine because it begins on the date an insurer breaches an insurance contract. Last week’s post discussed how the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the statute of limitations defense can be waived by insurers through written statements. The Southern District recently analyzed whether a claim for declaratory relief related to a statute of limitations issue in a Hurricane Wilma case was ripe for determination.

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