Florida insurance lawyer – Page 8

July 11, 2014

Weekly Review for Law Practice Tips for Monday, July 14, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week related to law practice management, law technology, and legal marketing. Enjoy!

Legal Productivity Tips: 5 Simple Tools That Unleash Meaningful Work
I recently watched a TED talk by Jason Fried of 37 Signals entitled Why Work Doesn’t Get Done at Work. The message was right on: The office has become a place of endless distraction; so much so that people seek anywhere but there to get their real work done. What happens is the real work ends up getting handled at home, on the weekends, super-early in the morning or days off.
Office distractions are almost an institution in the workplace. They can come in the form of impromptu meetings, Sharon from accounting stopping by your cube to clarify your latest expense report, or a buddy dropping in to kill some time. It’s endless. Read more here…

Remote Lawyering: 10 Keys to Running Your Practice From a Beach (or Las Vegas)
How do I make things work while I’m away?

As a preface, I’ll tell you that I spent years tweaking our system to get things to the point where I can be gone without issues. This was not a quick process.

The starting point is creating a vision. If you can see it, you can build it. Then you develop a plan. Finally, you execute on the plan. It takes time and patience. Here are the elements I had to put in place to hit the road…Read more here.

Law Practice Tips: Autopsy Your Dead Files
Remember the television show Quincy? Jack Klugman played a Los Angeles medical examiner, and in every episode, his autopsy would reveal that the decedent (who’d seemingly died of “natural” causes) was a victim of foul play. Using the clues he’d gained from his examinations, Quincy would convince the police a homicide had occurred, and then manage to singlehandedly finger the killer. In a pre-CSI world, it was pretty compelling stuff.

So why all this talk about an obscure 70′s crime-drama? Because if you’re really interested in identifying the work you love to do and learning how to serve your clients better, you may want to spend some time each week playing Quincy. Instead of investigating foul play, however, you should closely examine those things you’ve given up for dead in your office: your closed files.

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Florida Approves Southern Oak Take-Out of 10,000 Policies from Citizens
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) said it has approved the removal of up to 10,000 multi-peril personal residential policies from the state-backed property insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by Southern Oak Insurance Co.

Southern Oak requested in April to remove 8,500 policies from Citizens’ personal lines account (non-coastal properties) and 1,500 from the coastal account (coastal properties) for the September 16, 2014 take-out period, according to OIR.

This is part of the state’s ongoing effort to reduce the number of policies in Citizens and transfer them into the private insurance market. OIR said this announcement brings the total number of policies approved for take-outs this year to 369,341.

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

No New Rights in Florida’s Homeowners’ Bill of Rights
Florida’s passage of a homeowners’ claims bill of rights left few satisfied after lawmakers largely codified current law while avoiding controversial issues such as the practice of policyholders assigning their claims payments to contractors.
The bill of rights was a priority of the state’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and was initially drafted by the state’s insurance consumer advocate’s office.
Read more here…

Homeowners insurance rate reductions coming to Florida
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance, the state’s largest provider of homeowners insurance coverage, has announced rate reductions for 2015. This will be the first time the state-run insurance organization has been able to offer a rate reduction in several years. The insurer has been facing monumental financial problems recently and has been struggling to overcome these issues while also complying with it duty to provide coverage to its policyholders. The forthcoming rate reduction may go a long way in improving the tarnished relationship that the organization has with its customers.
Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

June 24, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Florida Insurance Law Updates for June 25

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the Florida insurance industry. Enjoy!

Flood Insurance Enters the Limelight as Hurricane Season Begins
The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season has started, and weather forecasters are predicting that this season may be quite active, but the storms emerging during the season may be modest due to the effects of El Nino. There is no certain way to tell whether or not the hurricane season will be free of any powerful storms, as 2012′s Hurricane Sandy was quite unexpected itself. The impact of an unexpected storm can be devastating, which is why there is a growing interest in insurance coverage that is designed to protect against such natural disasters. Read more here..

The Insurance Industry and Climate Change
When it comes to climate change, insurance can be a tricky subject. The global insurance industry does not typically deal in “what ifs” and many large insurers are not willing to debate whether or not climate change is real. These insurers are more apt to address the issue of climate change by offering new insurance products and finding ways to mitigate the risks associated with the phenomenon. Powerful storms, rising temperatures, and depleting food and water resources are becoming issues that the insurance industry is beginning to involve itself in. Read more here…

Florida Gov. Scott Signs Flood Insurance, Credit Claims, Parasailing Bills
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law on Friday dozens of measures covering everything from flood insurance, electronic cigarettes and parasailing.

The Republican governor, who has been holding re-election campaign events for most of this month, did the bill signings privately. Scott and previous governors usually hold public bill signings during the summer, but he has spent little time in the Capitol since the end of the annual legislative session. Read more here..

Florida ‘Hurricane Tax’ Sent to Early Retirement
A1.3 percent surcharge on most property/casualty policies in Florida to help pay for past hurricane claims is coming to an end earlier than originally planned.
The Florida Cabinet voted this week to end the assessment on policyholders that was begun in 2008 and was expected to continue until 2016.

State law requires an assessment whenever the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) does not have enough cash to pay insurers for the losses they incur. The surcharge, called the “hurricane tax” by some, is used to fund revenue bonds to pay the losses.

FHCF ran out of money following Wilma, which was the fourth storm of 2005 and the eighth storm that hit the state during a two-year period. The FHCF had to borrow about $2.6 billion to pay its obligations to private insurers. Read more here…

Florida Judge Approves Deal for Heritage to Assume Sunshine State Policies
A Florida judge has signed-off on a plan by regulators to allow a failed Florida property insurer’s policyholders to be assumed by another company, although policyholders will retain the option to seek coverage elsewhere.

Leon County Judge Kevin Carroll on Friday approved the deal that could result in Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Co. assuming as many as 36,000 policyholders left seeking coverage due to the insolvency of the Sunshine State Insurance Co.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based Sunshine State was taken over by the Department of Financial Services Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation on June 3 after the state Office of Insurance Regulation reported the insurer could no longer meet the state’s capital requirements. Read more here…

Florida Private Flood Bill Now Law But Market May Take a While to Develop
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed legislation designed to encourage private insurers to offer flood insurance, but the industry is tamping down expectations that it will result in a viable market in the near future.

The legislation creates a statutory framework allowing private insurers to offer four different types of flood coverage ranging from standard coverage, which mirrors the current National Flood Insurance Program policies, to three other enhanced coverages.
The legislation also allows private insurers to file their own rates prior to October 1, 2019, after which they must be approved by regulators. The time period is so Florida insurers can develop state flood data that is currently not available under the NFIP. Read more here…

Aspen Opens Miami Hub for Expansion in Latin America
Aspen Insurance said it is expanding its presence in Latin America with the opening of a regional hub in Miami, joining a group of re/insurers that have also located Latin American operations in the city.

The Miami office and Aspen’s expanded energy team will serve the onshore energy market in Latin America, which is part of Aspen’s previously announced strategy to expand its operations selectively in targeted market segments, according to the announcement.

The company recently named Gary Windsor to spearhead its onshore energy expansion into Latin America. The team will begin writing business from Miami in July, according to Tony Carroll, executive vice president and head of Marine, Energy and Construction. Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

May 14, 2014September 10, 2018

Summary Judgment not allowed for Insurance Company if there is some Compliance with Examination Under Oath Requests

In Solano v. State Farm Florida Insurance Company, 4D12-1198 (Fla. 4DCA 2014), a Florida homeowner insurance claim case, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held that it was improper to award summary judgment to an insurance company when the homeowner cooperated to some extent with the requests for an examination under oath.

Here, the insurance company demanded an examination under oath for both owners of the home plus their Florida public adjuster. The husband attended the examination under oath but the Florida public adjuster refused claiming that he could not be compelled to do so. The homeowner and public adjuster provided documentation to support the claim to the insurance company and cooperated with inspection requests.

Regardless, the insurance company moved for summary judgment arguing that the homeowner violated the insurance policy by not cooperating with their investigation and providing a complete and meaningful examination under oath.

Florida Examination Under Oath

An examination under oath is a process allowed under a Florida insurance policy for the insurance company to question the homeowner about a claim. Insurance companies use the examination under oath to investigate the claim, the cause of loss and the extent of the damages claimed. Information gathered from an examination under oath is often used to support a decision by the insurance company to either pay or deny the insurance claim.

When requested, the attendance at an examination under oath by a homeowner is mandatory under the insurance policy. The failure of the homeowner to attend the examination under oath can be a breach of the insurance policy and lead to a denial of the claim.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal required a total failure to comply with an investigation and examination under oath request for summary judgment to be granted to an insurance company. Specifically, when there is some compliance and cooperation with insurance company requests, a question of fact remains whether there is a total failure to cooperate and that prevents summary judgment.

Florida Public Adjusters

Interestingly, the insurance company argued the refusal of the public adjuster’s refusal to attend the examination under oath was a breach of the Florida insurance policy. The public adjuster is not a party to the insurance contract between the insurance company and the homeowner.

Here, the homeowner arranged for the Florida Public Adjuster to attend the examination under oath but he on his own refused to attend. Since the insurance company could not show how the homeowner could compel the public adjuster to attend the examination under oath it was inappropriate to use this as a basis to deny the insurance claim.

Lessons Learned?

Obviously, if you want to be paid for your Florida insurance claim you must attempt to comply with the investigative request of the insurance company. Send the insurance company proof of your loss, including photos, receipts, etc. Permit the inspection of your home when requested by the insurance company. Attend an examination under oath if so requested. It is strongly suggested that you have a Florida attorney present with you during an examination under oath.

You will need to show at least some compliance with the reasonable requests of the insurance company if you do not want your Florida insurance claim denied from the outset. When you are in doubt whether the insurance company’s requests are reasonable or proper, that is the time to consult with a Florida insurance lawyer. In all those instances, please contact us if you, a colleague or family member is in need of help with a Florida insurance lawsuit or requires a Miami insurance lawyer.

Related Topics: Florida insurance law; Florida examination under oath, Florida insurance claim denial, Florida insurance lawsuit, Miami insurance lawyer, Florida insurance lawyer

April 16, 2014September 10, 2018

Insurance Company’s Defense Based on an Assignment of Benefits Form Fails

Last week I had an interesting Court hearing in one of my Florida homeowner insurance claim lawsuits. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation argued my client, a Florida homeowner, had no right to sue for unpaid damages because she signed an assignment of benefits form for a water mitigation company. A water mitigation company was hired at the start of the insurance claim to remove water from the home during a leak. The insurance company argued disingenuously that the assignment of benefits form gave the water mitigation company all rights and benefits due under the insurance policy for the claim and my client was left with nothing. The Court properly saw through this ruse and denied the insurance company’s motion for summary judgment.

Florida Assignment of Benefits

Assignment of Benefits forms are used all the time in various situations. When you visit a doctor’s office, a laboratory or even an MRI facility, they will usually require you to sign an assignment of benefits form. The assignment of benefits form is used by the medical provider to directly bill your insurance company for the services rendered. This allows the medical provider to use your insurance benefits rather than requiring payment directly from you when services are rendered.

In a Florida homeowner’s insurance claim, assignment of benefits forms are often used by plumbers, water mitigation companies, mold specialists, and other contractors. Similar to assignment of benefit forms in the medical field, an assignment of benefits during a Florida property insurance claim allows contractors to directly bill the insurance company for the services they perform at your home. Many times these services are on an emergency basis and advance payment is not an option.

Defense By Any Means Necessary

In my case, the insurance company tried to argue only the water mitigation company could bring an insurance claim for unpaid damages. In making this argument, the insurance company attempted to read something into the assignment of benefits form which did not exist. The insurance defense lawyer argued my client’s signing of the assignment of benefits form meant she hired the water mitigation company for “all necessary work” and for “all restoration services”. Those precise words were not present in the assignment of benefits form and the argument falls flat. What was present in the assignment of benefits form was language which limited the assignment to the actual repair services rendered by the water mitigation company.

There is no doubt the assignment of benefits form drafted by a water mitigation company could have been worded better. But it was equally evident to everyone the true intent of the document was for a water mitigation company to get paid for its services and nothing more. Rather than abide by the true spirit of the document, the insurance company tried to wiggle out of the insurance claim on a technicality. To make it more insulting, the insurance company employed this tactic over two years into the insurance claim.

Lessons for the Future

Insurance companies will try everything they can to get out of paying an otherwise valid insurance claim. This is not a reassuring fact given you are paying insurance premiums to the insurance company for their promise to be there for you if an accident occurs. Florida insurance law requires that an insurance company investigates the insurance claim and deals with its policy holders in good faith.

Where you have an insurance claim and you are asked to sign an assignment of benefits, make sure the form specifically states it is a partial assignment of benefits. Avoid signing an assignment of benefits which assigns all rights and benefits to your claim or insurance policy to a contractor. If that has already happened, ask your contractor to correct the assignment of benefits form so it specifically states it is a partial assignment limited to the actual repair work the contractor performs and nothing more. You can do this by signing a new amended and corrected assignment of benefits form or you can contact us or a Miami insurance lawyer for help with your Florida insurance claim.

Related Topics: Florida Insurance Law, Florida Assignment of Benefits, Florida Insurance Lawyer, Florida insurance claim lawsuit, Miami insurance lawyer

April 9, 2014September 10, 2018

Insurance Company Awarded Attorney’s Fees against Insurance Claimant

In Citizens Property Insurance Corporation v. Perez, 4D12-1412 (Fla. 4DCA 2014), a new Florida insurance law case, the insurance company was seeking attorney’s fees and costs against its policyholder when the policyholder lost a Florida insurance claim lawsuit. The legal basis for attorney’s fees and costs was based on a Proposal for Settlement made under Florida Statute 768.79 and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442. In the proposal for settlement, the insurance company made a minimal offer of $1,000.00 to which the policyholder rejected. The policyholder argued the insurance company was not entitled to attorney’s fees and costs because the minimal offer was not made in good faith. The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held that an insurance company’s minimal offer was in good faith if it had a reasonable basis at the time of the offer to believe its exposure was nominal. The Fourth District Court of Appeal found that the insurance company had a reasonable basis to believe its exposure was nominal and the minimal offer was made in good faith.

Florida Proposal for Settlement

The Florida Proposal for Settlement Statute and Rule is a tool by which an insurance company can seek attorney’s fees and costs against an insurance claimant. Normally in Florida, only the insurance claimant can obtain attorney’s fees if the claimant obtains a final judgment against the insurance company. Florida insurance companies now use the Proposal for Settlement as a sword to intimidate and scare homeowners when they make insurance claims. Almost as a matter of course, insurance companies will file an early Proposal for Settlement in a low amount. The insurance claimant will be at risk for paying attorney’s fees if the claimant cannot obtain a final judgment that exceeds the offer amount by at least twenty-five percent.

Enforcement of a Proposal for Settlement

The enforcement of a Proposal for Settlement requires several factors. First, the Proposal for Settlement must be in writing and in a specific statutory form. Second, the Proposal for Settlement must be clear and unambiguous. Third, the Proposal for Settlement must be made in good faith. Fourth, the Proposal for Settlement must be rejected. Finally, the party that rejected the Proposal for Settlement must have failed to obtain a recovery at least twenty-five percent more than the amount offered.

Good Faith Proposals for Settlement

For the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal which includes Broward County, the standard for good faith as to a minimal offers is whether it was reasonable at the time of the offer to believe there was nominal exposure in the case. For the neighboring Third District Court of Appeal which includes the counties of Miami-Dade and Monroe, the standard for good faith as to minimal offers is different. For the Third District Court of Appeal, the standard for good faith as to minimal offer only exists when the undisputed record suggests there was no exposure in the case. As it now stands, there are two standards for deciding whether good faith exists for a minimal offer. If you are in Miami-Dade County, a minimal offer will only be made in good faith if the party making that offer has no exposure in the case.

The End Result?

If and until this issue is taken up by the Florida Supreme Court, the analysis of whether an insurance company’s minimal offer in a Proposal for Settlement is in good faith must be weighed depending on where the claim is made. If your claim is in Broward County, you will need to analyze a Proposal for Settlement with a little extra care as your own exposure is now more at risk. Decisions regarding these tools and strategies should always be reviewed by competent and able Florida legal counsel. In all instances, consult with a Florida insurance lawyer for assistance with your Florida insurance claim. Having an insurance claim is bad enough. Having to pay the insurance company attorney’s fees and costs after making your claim is a whole different matter. Contact us if you, a colleague or family member is in need of help with a Florida insurance lawsuit or requires a Miami insurance lawyer.

Related Topics: Florida insurance claim; Florida Proposal for Settlement, Minimal Offers, Florida insurance lawsuit, Miami insurance lawyer; Florida insurance lawyer

March 5, 2014

Florida Insurance Law Weekly Updates March 5, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends:

CFO Jeff Atwater Helps Return More Than $253 Million to Consumers in 2013 http://ow.ly/u4jsD.

CFO Press Release 2/4/2014 CFO Atwater Announces 14 Arrests After Investigation Known As ‘Operation Flames and Floods’ Exposes Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud. No tolerance for insurance fraud as it undermines the legitimate claims that everyday people have. http://ow.ly/tKYaf.

Florida may be home for private flood insurance – Live Insurance News http://ow.ly/tKWqP.

Enjoy and stay tuned for next week’s Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law!

July 24, 2013

Appraisal Award Satisfies Condition Precedent for Filing Bad Faith Claim Against Insurance Company

Florida Bad Faith Insurance Claims and Appraisal Awards

In Hunt v. State Farm Florida Insurance Company, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D774a (Fla. 2DCA 2013), the Florida Second District Court of Appeal held that an appraisal award in favor of a homeowner satisfied the requirements to bring a bad faith claim against the insurance company for claim delay. In this Florida insurance law case, the trial court dismissed the homeowner’s bad faith lawsuit because the homeowner did not obtain a judgment against the insurance company for breach of contract.

Florida Insurance Bad Faith Claims

A Florida insured, claimant or homeowner may file a separate lawsuit against his or her insurance company for additional damages for bad faith claims handling. By law, a Florida insurance company must act in good faith with Florida homeowners when investigating and adjusting insurance claims. This typically means that an insurance company cannot make representations to the insured or homeowner that are false or engage in tactics to delay or otherwise exhaust a claimant so they give up or agree to settle for less than what they are owed. Before an insured or homeowner can bring a bad faith claim he or she must first obtain a resolution in their favor against the insurance company for benefits owed. Only after the homeowner has received a resolution in his or her favor can he or she then file a separate lawsuit for bad faith damages.

Florida Appraisal Awards

In this case, the Florida homeowner had a sinkhole claim and filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the insurance company when he disagreed with the repair estimate. During the lawsuit, the homeowner also filed a civil remedy notice with the Florida Department of Financial Services that claimed the insurance company was acting in bad faith and delaying his claim. In response, the insurance company moved to dismiss the breach of contract lawsuit and to compel appraisal of the claim. The trial court put the breach of contract case on hold and required that the parties use appraisal to set the amount of loss for the claimed damages.

The Florida appraisal process is a limited procedure whose sole purpose is to determine the amount of damages. Afterwards a trial can then be requested to determine if the insurance company is in fact liable for the claim. During the appraisal process, the insurance company may agree to settle the case if it is pleased with the amount of the appraisal award.

In this particular case, the homeowner was given an appraisal award that set the amount of damages and the insurance company elected to pay it. The payment of the appraisal award essentially ended the breach of contract case. In response, the homeowner dismissed his breach of contract case but then filed a separate lawsuit for bad faith against the insurance company. The insurance company argued that the homeowner could not proceed with a bad faith claim since he dismissed his breach of contract case and never received a final judgment. The trial court agreed with the insurance company and entered summary judgment against the homeowner finding that he failed to satisfy the requirements for bringing a Florida bad faith action.

Appraisal Award is a Resolution Against the Insurance Company

The Florida Second District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court holding that an appraisal award is a resolution against the insurance company. The appellate court recognized that the common resolution obtained against an insurance company prior to bad faith is a final judgment but that is not the only way. For instance, previous Florida case law has established that an arbitration award against an insurance company establishes the validity of the claim and is sufficient for the purposes of making a bad faith claim. An appraisal award operates the same way in that it after payment establishes the validity of the claim and therefore is also sufficient for the purposes of making a bad faith claim.

Lessons Learned

To pursue a bad faith claim against an insurance company, a Florida homeowner will need to either obtain (1) a final judgment against the insurance company for breach of contract; (2) an arbitration award; or (3) an appraisal award that is paid by the insurance company. In this case, substance prevailed over format.

Related Topics: Florida insurance lawyer, Miami insurance lawyer, Florida insurance claim, Florida insurance claim denial, Florida Bad Faith claims, Florida Appraisal Process, Florida Appraisal Awards

May 15, 2013September 10, 2018

Russell Law adds new Florida Insurance Lawyer

We are proud to announce that Miami lawyer Pablo Gonzalez Zepeda, Esq., has joined Russell Law to work in its Florida insurance law practice assisting property owners with their insurance claims. Pablo Gonzalez Zepeda will work on all Florida insurance claim cases including the initial filing of claims, pre-suit claim settlement, examinations under oath, claim denials, insufficient payments, and breach of contract actions.

Mr. Gonzalez Zepeda was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008 and has a broad spectrum of experience ranging including commercial law, consumer law, family law and real estate. Prior to joining Russell Law, Pablo Gonzalez Zepeda was the managing partner and shareholder of The Law Offices of Ferro, Gonzalez & Associates as well as his own law firm, The Law Offices of Gonzalez Zepeda. Mr. Gonzalez Zepeda is fluent in Spanish and belongs to the American Bar Association, Dade County Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, National Association of Consumer Advocates, and National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.