In Citizens Property Insurance Corporation v. Salkey (Opinion filed November `6, 2018), property owners insured with Citizens claimed losses alleged to have been caused by sinkhole activity. They had purchased coverage endorsement, which provided coverage for direct physical loss caused by sinkhole activity. An expert hired by Citizens concluded that the property damage…
Making a first party insurance claim is not always the only or even the best option available to a person or corporation whose property has been damaged by wind or rain. (A first party claim is made by a policy holder to his or her own insurance company. These claims are…
Every property damage insurance policy issued in Florida requires the insured to provide the insurance company (or, in some instances, the procuring policy agent) with timely notice of a loss. The notice requirement enables the insurer to conduct a timely and adequate investigation of all circumstances surrounding an accident. Bankers Insurance Company v. Macias,…
Most homeowner and commercial residential insurance policies obligate policyholders to participate in a potentially expensive and time-consuming adversarial appraisal procedure before litigation. Here’s an example, from Allstate Insurance Company v. Suarez, 833 So. 2d 762 (Fla. 2002), of a typical contractual appraisal provision: Appraisal. If you and we fail to…