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Miami Property Insurance Lawyer In Florida, and elsewhere, property insurance policyholders frequently have their claims denied due to the existence of “concurrent causes” of loss.  A concurrent cause is one of multiple causes that contributed to the damages at-issue.  For example, if your house is damaged in a severe tropical storm, some of the losses may be due to water, and some due to wind.  The wind conditions and the water damage might each be […]

In the homeowner’s insurance context, insurers deny claims for a variety of reasons, some reasonable, some not so reasonable.  Fundamentally, insurers are incentivized to deny claims and minimize their payouts.  For example, if you are entitled to recover $100,000 in a homeowner’s insurance claim, but the insurer’s initial denial convinces you not to bother pursuing the insurance claim, then the insurer will have saved a substantial amount of money by simply acting adversely to your […]

Property insurance claims can leave many policyholders feeling vulnerable, and for good reason.  Whether they have had their home destroyed in a natural disaster, or have had their vehicle totaled in an accident, the policyholder may find that the property insurer is rather aggressive in denying, undervaluing, or otherwise mishandling their claim for benefits — given how difficult their circumstances may be at such a time, the adverse decisions of their insurer can deepen the […]

If you are involved in a dispute with your insurer over benefits owed in the event that your property has diminished in value (following an accident), then you may be entitled to bring an action against the insurer to secure the desired benefits.  Effectively bringing a diminished value claim can be quite a challenge, however, given that Florida law does not allow such benefits recovery by default unless the insurance policy specifically empowers the claimant […]

In Florida, where hurricanes, tropical storms, and other natural disasters are a regular feature of life, property insurance claims frequently involve “loss of use” coverage issues.  Standard property insurance coverage does not necessarily cover all the various losses suffered by a policyholder.  Loss of use coverage — which may be its own separate policy, or simply a provision built into an existing homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance policy — helps fill in the gaps, so […]

Usually, property loss does not involve exclusive damage to the dwelling unit itself — there may also be damage to other, non-dwelling structures (such as a fence around the property), or more commonly, to items of personal property that also reside within the dwelling.  In some cases, the personal property of the policyholder may be of significant value, and as such, their loss may expose the policyholder to unexpected financial vulnerability. For example, suppose that […]

If you are challenging the wrongful denial of your property insurance claim, the insurer is likely to assert that the language in the insurance contract is rather ambiguous, and that it should be interpreted in a manner that favors them. For example, suppose that your property insurance contract includes various provisions that exclude lightning damage from coverage.  A tree near your house is hit by lightning, which results in a fire.  The fire then spreads […]

Property insurance policyholders have an obligation to mitigate their losses whether they’re in Florida or any other jurisdiction.  Failure to mitigate such losses can have a myriad negative consequences for the would-be claimant, up to and including a relinquishment of reimbursement rights under the insurance contract.  As such, if you have suffered various property losses for which you are entitled to be paid out, it’s important to consult with an experienced property insurance attorney as […]

In Florida, as is the case in other jurisdictions, almost all property insurance coverage includes exclusionary clauses that are meant to constrict the ability of policyholders to claim a covered loss.  Depending on the language of the insurance contract at-issue, your claim may be clearly excluded from coverage, or the exclusionary clause may be ambiguous enough that a skilled attorney can convince a court of law to find on your behalf. Fortunately for Florida policyholders, […]

Most people — and especially in Florida, where tropical storms and hurricanes are a regular threat — purchase home insurance under the assumption that their insurer will make reasonable attempts to compensate them when something goes wrong and they suffer property damage.  The unfortunate reality, however, is that insurers (even in the homeowner insurance context) are in the business of minimizing their claim payouts.  If you’ve suffered property losses to your home, you may find […]