In United Property and Casualty Ins. Co. v. Concepcion, 2012 WL 634099 (Fla. 3DCA 2012), the Third District Court of Appeal ruled that a trial court must first have an evidentiary hearing to determine if a homeowner complied with post-loss policy conditions before the trial court could order the insurer to participate in the appraisal process to determine the amount of loss for an insurance claim.
The Florida Appraisal Process
In this Florida insurance law case, the homeowner filed a motion to compel appraisal to force the insurance company to use the appraisal process to determine the amount of the loss. The insurance company opposed the motion to compel appraisal and alleged that the homeowner failed to comply with post-loss policy conditions by not providing documents, a sworn proof of loss or answering certain questions at an examination under oath. The Third District Court of Appeal found that the insurance company’s allegations raised a disputed issue of fact and that dispute had to be resolved before the trial court could order appraisal.
Post-Loss Conditions
This represents yet another reason why it is very important for homeowners to comply with all reasonable insurance company requests for information so that all options are available to seek recovery under the insurance policy. Should there be any question as to whether the insurance company is entitled to certain information or requests, it would be in the best interests of the Florida insured to contact a Florida insurance lawyer for help with their insurance claim.
Related Topics: Florida insurance claims, Florida insurance law, Florida appraisal process, Insurance Policy Post-Loss Conditions, Miami Insurance Lawyer
