In my previous blog post, I gave shared an overview of the facts surrounding Florida Insurance Guaranty Association v. De La Fuente,1 which lead Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal (2nd DCA) to certify two unique questions involving FIGA’s liability in sinkhole claims as being "of great public importance." Part 2 of this blog series … Continue Reading
Suffering a sinkhole loss is already difficult enough, but for those homeowners with a claim being handled by FIGA, the process can often become even more complicated. This can occur when the terms of the insurance contract issued by the original, now insolvent, insurance carrier arguably conflict with FIGA’s duties and obligations under the Florida … Continue Reading
Recently, the Florida Second District Court of Appeal (“Second DCA”) considered whether a claim was time-barred by the statute of limitations as it relates to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”).1 The policyholders appealed the trial court ruling that the applicable statute of limitation (F.S.A. 95.11(5)(d) and 631.68) barred their claim for sinkhole damage. It … Continue Reading
In Florida, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”) handles and resolves claims of insolvent insurers under certain statutory guidelines. But what happens when the underlying insurer had reached a settlement agreement with a claimant before becoming insolvent? You would hope that FIGA would be ordered to honor such an agreement. It is a beautiful thing when the law follows common … Continue Reading
On January 19th, the Florida Supreme Court issued its opinion in Petty v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Association, which decided whether an insured is entitled to recover attorney’s fees from the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA). I wrote about the case in October 2010, when it was at the lower appellate level, in The Definition of … Continue Reading
Just last week, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals held that the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”) wrongly denied a policyholder’s claim and was obligated to pay attorney’s fees and costs. In Rahabi v. FIGA, the appellate court distinguished the holding from its earlier case, FIGA v. Ehrlich, which was just decided in May of … Continue Reading
Julie Patel of the Sun-Sentinel continues her dedicated investigative reporting series looking into insurance issues in her recent article, Expect low and slow claims payments if your insurer folds.… Continue Reading
In Florida, the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), was created by statute to pay claims to policyholders if their insurers become insolvent. The FIGA Act, §631.54(3) defines a covered claim as: [A]n unpaid claim, including one of unearned premiums, which arises out of, and is within the coverage, and not in excess of, the applicable limits … Continue Reading
Coral Insurance Company has been placed in receivership. One aspect of handling claims where the insurer is in receivership is that a statutory time limit exists to file a lawsuit. However, for adjusters and policyholders, before a lawsuit can be filed, a "claim deadline" must first be met. We often get requests shortly before the lawsuit … Continue Reading
A number of policyholder attorneys have asked me why FIGA is being so difficult lately. At one time, it was not that way. There has obviously been a change of the guard because nobody should expect quick resolution of any claim from FIGA based on recent complaints and the developing case law helps demonstrate this … Continue Reading
FIGA is a legislatively created corporation which handles claims after insurance companies become insolvent. The reality of how FIGA works in the field stands in stark contrast to its stated goal of providing "fast, fair and professional claim service."… Continue Reading