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2022 is not boding well for drivers.  U.S. traffic deaths rose 0.5% in the first half of 2022 to 20,175, the highest number killed in the period since 2006, according to an early estimate released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”).  The NHTSA estimates that 9,560 peo...

You may have heard the phrase “accord and satisfaction” before.  Do you know what it means?  In layman's terms it means an agreement to discharge a person's obligation to you by accepting alternative performance instead.  For instance, assume you purchase tickets for a Saturday night show, but th...

We have reported before on the sweeping changes the Florida legislature enacted under Senate Bill (SB) 76.  The law went into effect on July 1, 2021 and changed the time policyholders are allowed to file property damage claims as well as limited their ability to sue their insurance company and re...

Effective July 1, 2021, the Florida Legislature revised Fla. Stat. §. 627.70132 as it pertains to the notice a homeowner is required to give his/her insurance company for property damage claims.  Under the revised statute, a policyholder must give notice of a home damage claim within two years fr...

You may be wondering: Why?  Won't my insurance company send an adjuster out to fairly and accurately inspect my property and document the damage?  Not always.  You have to remember who the adjuster works for.  As insurance attorneys who have helped hundreds of policyholders with their insurance c...

With unprecedented speed, the Florida Legislature prepared Senate Bill (SB) 2-D in response to Governor DeSantis's demand for a special session to address Florida's spiraling property insurance market.  Under the theory that rising insurance rates are caused by insurance lawsuits, the bill offers...

If the damage your home sustained from Hurricane Sally has not yet been repaired, the answer is “No”—by way of an Emergency Order that was issued by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation after Hurricane Sally.  However, many homeowners may not know this, and we have seen several carriers who...

We get this question a lot.  For clients with hurricane damage it is probably the most important question.  Most homeowners have no idea exactly how much it will cost to repair the damage wind caused to their home and how much of the repairs the insurance company will cover.  This means they also...

When it comes to fighting insurance companies, we pursue every right that your policy and the law entitles you.  If that requires us to push an insurance company into the courtroom so a jury of your peers can finally tell them they are wrong and they owe you more on the claim, that's what we do. ...

Gathering critical evidence at the scene of a car accident can prove invaluable for your recovery.  As attorneys who are experienced in handling car accident cases, we always recommend—if you are able—that you document all evidence possible at the scene.  Photos, witnesses, and key information ab...

“How do I get a new homeowner's policy when I have an open claim that is still in dispute?” Many clients have been asking us this question recently.  Most of them have a Hurricane Michael or Sally claim that is still in dispute (meaning, the insurer has not yet paid the claim in full) and th...

This is the new game we've seen insurance companies playing recently: the insurance company issues a demanding request for a long list of documents then claims your failure, as the policyholder, to produce the documents they requested has hindered their investigation allowing them to delay or den...

“The adjuster only spent thirty minutes at my house.”  “She didn't even go up on the roof.”  “He didn't take many pictures at all.”  These are just a few of the reports we have heard from policyholders when they tell us what happened when the insurance company's adjuster came out to inspect th...

While you are likely pretty familiar with the concept of depreciation, you may not know how it impacts your insurance claim.  Homeowners insurance companies generally pay claims in two phases.  First, they pay the actual cash value, i.e., what your property is worth as it sits today, probably a b...

Under the guise of an effort to reduce insurance premiums and save on insurance costs, insurance companies have unfortunately successfully lobbied for, and recently obtained, passage of a bill, SB 76, that offers them more protection and limits your ability to pursue your insurance company when t...

The answer is: Because you may not have fulfilled all of your post-loss obligations yet.  Almost every policy contains it, a section called “Your Duties After Loss.”  This portion of the policy sets out all of the things you are required to do after reporting a claim.  They are called post-loss o...

As with anything involving an insurance company, suing them for bad faith is not always easy.  Insurance company lobbyists work very hard to promote and push laws through that protect insurance companies and make it difficult for you to seek redress when your insurance company treats you unfair...

While most insurance companies that provide homeowner's insurance provide replacement cost coverage—meaning, the cost to repair or replace your damaged property—they generally are only required to pay this amount as work is performed and expenses are incurred.  However, these “expenses” are usual...

While there are many pitfalls to force-placed insurance, a recent opinion from the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals, which found the policyholder did not have the right to sue her force-placed insurance company to recover the full amount owed on the claim, felt like a good opportunity to ...

Know When You Can File a Lawsuit for Bad Faith There are several steps you have to take, first, to protect your right to pursue a bad faith claim against your insurance company.  First, you must file a Civil Remedy Notice that meets all of the necessary statutory requirements, which are precis...

If any of you have been through the insurance-claim process during Hurricane Ivan you know this.  Hurricane claims can take a long time (sometimes week, months, even years) to fully investigate, inspect, uncover all damages, obtain estimates and invoices, then dispute over the insurance company's...

Unfortunately, more often than not, this is a tactic.  It is a very strategic move we've seen in representing policyholders against their insurance companies for years, but far more recently in our Hurricane Michael and Sally claims, and we want to make sure you are aware of it.  What is a Sworn...

Is your insurance company refusing to pay for repairs?  You'll want to read this case to see how Citizens handled this claim and what the court thought about it.  In Citizens Property Insurance Corp. v. Tio, after the policyholder's property was damaged by a collapsed drain line, rather than inve...

Beginning on May 4, 2020, a dangerous fire, now widely known as the Five Mile Swamp Fire, burned out of control near Milton, Florida for over a month consuming nearly 2,300 acres and destroying the homes and property of numerous Santa Rosa County residents.  Westervelt Ecological Services, LLC (“...

Click the link below for a free download of multiple resources we have compiled for Hurricane Sally victims: FEMA assistance, basic supplies, help for seniors, disaster recovery loans, help for Veterans, and more.  Information, contact details, and clickable links for each resource are included. ...