by A. Hunter Faulkner and Maxwell A. Salain With a major hurricane making landfall somewhere in Florida on nearly an annual basis over the past several years, Florida’s property insurance market is in turmoil. Many carriers have left the state and those carriers still willing to write policies in the […]
Florida’s Senate Bill 2-A, which went into effect on December 16, 2022, has brought significant changes to Florida’s property insurance landscape, particularly in the realm of Assignment of Benefits (AOB).
In December 2022, Florida enacted Senate Bill 2A, abolishing one-way attorneys’ fees for property insurance disputes. This change impacts homeowners by heightening financial risks, raising access to justice concerns, and addressing the state’s insurance crisis.
Florida Senate Bill 2A introduces amendments to enhance prompt pay laws for property insurance claims, emphasizing timely communication, transparency, expedited investigations, and electronic methods. These changes aim to protect homeowners, streamline the claims process, and ensure fair resolutions, ultimately providing greater peace of mind during challenging times.
When lenders take life insurance policies as collateral for loans, they need to be aware of what needs to occur to place a claim in the event their borrower dies. Furthermore, in the event the collateral was pledged to multiple lenders, lenders will need to know how to discern whether […]
When can a construction CGL insurer finally breathe easy? The answer can be found in Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(c), Florida’s statute of limitations and repose for construction defects. The statute of limitations prohibits construction defect claims 4 years after the claim accrues. For not-readily-observable defects (“latent defects”), the claim does not […]
Construction projects are fragile and issues often arise when the project in practice doesn’t match the project in planning. Resolving these issues has become more standardized with the enactment of Florida Statutes Chapter 558, but the chapter may create as much litigation for insurance companies as it hopes to alleviate. […]
Life insurance protects us after our loved ones pass away, but only if we are entitled to its benefits. Unfortunately, dealing with a death can only be made more difficult by having to prove the death actually occurred. In order to protect all those insured by a particular company and […]
I recently authored a blog on insurance coverage triggers for construction defects under Florida law. Insurance coverage for residential and commercial construction projects and understanding when coverage is implicated (triggered) is critical. In many cases, the applicable insurance policies are commercial general liability (CGL) policies. These policies are occurrence based and only provide for indemnification for property damage or personal injury that takes place during the policy period. In many situations, these CGL policies are the only possible avenue of recovery for damages.
In construction defect claims, various insurance policies are often implicated. These policies can span many years, so it is critical to determine what policy or policies may provide insurance coverage for the damages that ensue. The insurance policies at play, for general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, are typically comprehensive general liability policies. Assuming these parties have such policies, the question then becomes what policies apply and do the policies cover the claims.