Proposed legislation targets auto insurance, PIP payments

Wed Jan 26th, 2011 on     Insurance Claims,    

The Florida Legislature is once again considering changes to the state’s no-fault auto insurance law. The focus of at least one proposal is limiting attorney fees in personal injury protection (PIP) suits. Insurance companies say the current law encourages high lawyer fees in even low-value injury suits. Personal injury attorneys counter that the measure will limit accident victims’ ability to go to court to demand their benefits.

Supreme Court Rejects Holocaust Survivors’ Insurance Appeal

Fri Dec 17th, 2010 on     Insurance Claims,    

Late last month, a group of Holocaust survivors’ efforts to have their dispute with an Italian life insurance company heard in court ended in defeat when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal. It was the second time the lead plaintiff had petitioned the Court to appeal his claim. Now it appears that only Congress can act to allow the survivors to sue the insurance company. There they face millions of dollars in insurance company lobbying.

Insurer Off the Hook in Chinese Drywall Case

Fri Dec 3rd, 2010 on     Insurance Claims,    

A complicated Florida case involving homeowners, developers, a commercial general liability insurance company and Chinese drywall has hit another road block. The homeowners and developers had filed a complaint earlier this year, alleging the insurance company denied their claim in bad faith. The court ruled against them. In the present case, the court has told them that the insurance company should not cover the claim at all. Just two months after they moved into their […]

Quiet Hurricane Season Keeps Insurance Losses ‘In Line’

Wed Dec 1st, 2010 on     Insurance Claims,    

The world’s second-largest reinsurance company announced this week that natural catastrophe losses rose from $22.7 billion in 2009 to $31 billion in the first 11 months of 2010. Man-made disasters — notably British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and the ensuing oil spill — have spurred about $5 billion in claims. Florida residents will not be surprised to hear that hurricane losses this year have been relatively low, resulting in a less egregious increase in insurance losses than initially expected.

Insurer Denies Claims for Damage Caused by Fire Engine

Thu Oct 28th, 2010 on     Insurance Claims,    

When a fire engine plowed through his yard this past August, a homeowner in Spring Hill, Fla. figured he’d hear from the fire rescue district’s insurance company. What surprised him was how rude and arrogant the adjusters were; what he absolutely didn’t expect was that the insurance company would deny the claim, saying the district was under no legal obligation to pay because the damage was not the result of the driver’s negligence.

Turning Tables – Stranger-originated Controversy Takes a Turn (part 3)

Mon Oct 18th, 2010 on     Insurance Claims,    

This is the last of a series of three posts about a wealthy woman, her death, her companion, her family, and a $15 million life insurance policy. The policy listed the beneficiary as the woman’s companion, who was the last to see the woman alive. The companion claims the policy was taken out to protect his business, explaining that the woman was his partner in the venture. The insurance company argues that no one is entitled to the proceeds of the policy, because it was purchased fraudulently as a “stranger-originated” policy. The family has also entered the fray.

Turning Tables on Life Insurance Company (part 2)

Wed Oct 13th, 2010 on     Insurance Claims,    

In our last post, we started to examine the intricacies and mystery surrounding a life insurance dispute. The insured, a woman of considerable wealth, died under unusual circumstances. While the death was ruled accidental, her daughter and the rest of the family were unconvinced. When a $15 million life insurance policy turned up, essentially naming the deceased’s companion and purported business partner as sole beneficiary, both the family and the insurance company became suspicious. Now, the companion, the insurance company and the family are all involved in a legal action to determine who is entitled to the $15 million.

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