Californians have many questions after being non-renewed by their insurance companies and unable to find another company that will insure their properties. The losses from recent wildfires have caused carriers to scale back, and some have completely ceased writing insurance in several California regions. The California FAIR Plan remains the only option for many of … Continue Reading
Most homeowners are surprised to learn that almost all homeowners’ policies include exclusions for damage caused by sewage water originating outside their home. For example, if your city or county’s sewer main line backs up because of tree roots or debris and the sewage water backs up into your home, the resulting damage will not … Continue Reading
In California, the moment an insured obtains a repair estimate that exceeds the insurer’s estimate, the insurer must either pay the difference or adjust its original estimate. This rule is set forth in the Fair Claims Settlement Practices Act, 10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.9(d). Generally, whenever anyone makes an insurance claim, the insurance company … Continue Reading
Many insurance companies thought they would have to pay no more than $5,000 for each California wildfire claim but are ending up paying hundreds of thousands if not millions.… Continue Reading
It is becoming more and more common that insurance companies are recommending and suggesting that their “preferred vendors” perform loss repairs. California offers insureds protection if they opt to use a preferred vendor. Under the Fairs Claims Settlement Practices Regulations, if an insurer recommends a vendor, the insurer is essentially required to guaranty that vendor’s … Continue Reading
Many policyholders do not have enough insurance to replace their buildings or homes after a total loss. Often these policyholders were assured by their agents or insurance companies at the point of sale that their limits were sufficient. And many times these assurances were based on estimates that fell below the minimum standards set by … Continue Reading
California’s Senate Bill 2401 is making its way through the legislature and will hopefully bring some important changes to the way insurance companies train their out of state adjusters who handle California based policyholder’s claims. The bill, also known as the Insurance Adjuster Act of 2019, was created by Senator Bill Dodd to eliminate confusion … Continue Reading
California summers can get hot. To protect workers, the state requires employers to take extensive precautions. California’s regulations on heat safety are promulgated by the Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety, which is often referred to as Cal/OSHA.… Continue Reading
The string of natural disasters that struck California in 2017 and 2018 resulted in new legislation expanding the rights of California policyholders. The California legislature has drafted and introduced new legislation that would continue to expand policyholders’ rights.… Continue Reading
Insurance policyholders who are considering suing their insurance companies for bad faith need to consider many pros and cons, including the potential for financial compensation. California juries can allocate the money they award policyholders to several categories, such as unpaid policy benefits, attorney fees, and punitive damages. This post addresses punitive damages and looks at … Continue Reading
Many insurance policyholders who have lost homes in the devastating California wildfires call our firm and ask, “Can my insurance company really deduct the value of the land under the replacement home I purchased from my claim payment?” This is a great question because this is now an unlawful tactic by the insurance companies that … Continue Reading
The California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Act outlines specific insurer conduct prohibited and considered unfair to insureds. Identifying prohibited insurer conduct and effectively communicating to a carrier it committed prohibited acts will lead to better claim results.… Continue Reading
The California Fair Claims Settlement Practices Act imposes multiple deadlines to respond and report to insureds during a claim adjustment. Knowing and understanding an insurer’s reporting duties and deadlines can speed up the adjustment and payment of a claim. Although a failure to meet a deadline by a day or two may not, in and … Continue Reading
Losses from wildfires across the United States over the past decade have added up to $5.1 billion.1 In addition to damage typically expected from fires (smoke, soot, ash, water from fire-fighting hoses and extinguisher chemicals), some homeowners may face the additional risk of damage caused by suppression efforts, specifically aviation-based firefighting.… Continue Reading
Everyone in the insurance industry has heard the term reformation, but it is often misunderstood. In California (and elsewhere), the legal right to reformation originated over a century ago when we still had separate courts of “law” and “equity.” Reformation was a creature of the latter, designed to prevent one party from using a mistake … Continue Reading
The California Insurance Code mandates if a property insurance policy requires actual cash value payment, the payment must be based on the property’s depreciation for two types of claims: (1) a partial loss to a structure, i.e., a home or building and (2) damaged contents, i.e., personal property or business personal property.1 Fortunately, there is … Continue Reading
Are California homeowners entitled to collect actual cash value (“ACV”) or replacement cost values (“RCV”) for property claims? It depends on what type of policy you have and whether you suffered a total or partial loss of your property. What’s more, in a few weeks, the California Assembly may vote to change existing law. To … Continue Reading
California has statutory and case law that defines replacement cost and actual cash value, and these laws are read into every insurance policy notwithstanding what the policy language says. This blog has several posts on the subject,1 and this post aims to give you one cohesive post to consult for all your questions on calculating … Continue Reading
California residents were not spared from disaster in 2018. Instead, devastating wildfires continued, which included the biggest and most devastating wildfires to ever ravage California. The continued disasters were more frequent and begun much earlier during California’s prolonged dry period. The number and size of the wildfires along with insurance carriers’ claim handling have brought … Continue Reading
Last month, California passed legislation that requires residential property insurers to take specific measures to review the estimated cost of rebuilding or repairing structures insured under residential property insurance policies. Assembly Bill 1797 added section 10103.4 to California’s Insurance Code. With certain, limited exceptions, under the new statute, residential property insurers must, at least biennially, … Continue Reading
As many Californians continue to repair, rebuild, and regain financial health after the disasters throughout the State, many are looking at insurance reform as a solution for the future. Insurers should provide the funds due to individuals and businesses after a disaster, but as surveys have shown, these funds don’t always flow as they should.1… Continue Reading
In January, state legislators introduced bills to increase and/or extend insurance coverage to policyholders facing declared disasters.… Continue Reading
As I am writing this blog, most of the country is in the middle of a deep freeze. Here in New Jersey, the forecast doesn’t show any signs of warming up: So naturally, my mind turned to more temperate climates and so today we are going to chat about the claims handling guidelines in California.… Continue Reading
California State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones recently posted a bulletin urging insurance companies to provide North Bay fire victims up to 100% of their personal property coverage limits by not requiring the insured to fill out a detailed inventory.… Continue Reading
