Policyholders: Be Careful Not to Misrepresent Yourself on Your Insurance Application

Fri Apr 13th, 2018 on     Insurance Claims,    

In some cases, your insurer may deny your claim due to a specific misrepresentation in your insurance application — even if the misrepresentation at issue was not intentional and was merely a mistake borne of a simple misunderstanding. Material Misrepresentation as a Defense Insurers can use a material misrepresentation defense to avoid having to pay out for your legitimate insurance claims.  Oftentimes, an insurer will discover some mistake in your application and will anchor their […]

How the Health Insurance Appeals Process Works in Florida

Fri Mar 30th, 2018 on     Health Insurance,    

In Florida, and elsewhere, health insurance policyholders are entitled to appeal adverse determinations by their insurer — such as a denial of coverage — and thereby request that the insurer conduct a full review of their original decision. The appeals process is the first of several steps in challenging the determination made by your health insurer.  After you have exhausted the internal appeals process, you can move forward with an external, third-party review of the […]

Bad Faith Lawsuits: Making Sure Your Claim is a Strong One

Fri Mar 23rd, 2018 on     Bad Faith Insurance,    

In Florida, insurers have a duty of good faith that they must adhere to.  Simply put, insurers must act fairly, honestly, and with due regard towards the interests of their policyholders.  If they fail to do so — for example, by wrongfully denying a claim, unreasonably delaying the handling of a claim, or otherwise interfering with the policyholder’s ability to recover the damages to which they are entitled — then they may be held liable […]

Florida Property Insurers Must Cover Damage to Personal Property Too

Fri Mar 16th, 2018 on     Property Insurance,    

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 […]

Your Insurer’s Delay Can Give Rise to a Bad Faith Claim

Fri Mar 9th, 2018 on     Bad Faith Insurance,    

As a general rule, insurers will act to avoid or otherwise minimize their liabilities under their insurance contract with a policyholder.  Sometimes, however, the actions taken by an insurer clearly violate their duty of good faith, and thus give the policyholder an opportunity to sue and recover damages pursuant to a bad faith claim.  Actions giving rise to bad faith claims include those that involve unreasonable delays in handling, resolving, and processing an insurance claim […]

A Look at Commercial General Liability Insurance and Bad Faith Issues

Wed Feb 28th, 2018 on     Bad Faith Insurance,    

As a business owner, CGL insurance coverage is fundamental to effectively running your business in a highly-litigious society.  When a improperly mopped floor can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions, in potential liability to injured third-parties, the value of CGL insurance skyrockets — CGL insurance provides the “peace of mind” necessary for a business to successfully operate. This reliance on CGL insurance can lead to challenging situations when the insurer wrongfully […]

Property Insurance Provisions Must Be Construed in Favor of Coverage

Wed Feb 14th, 2018 on     Property Insurance,    

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 […]

Common Justifications for the Denial of a Health Insurance Claim

Wed Feb 7th, 2018 on     Health Insurance,    

Insurers — whether in the health insurance context, or some other context — will look for any possible justification to support their denial of a policyholder’s substantial claims, however legitimate those claims may be.  Recent scandals plaguing health insurers have shaken the industry to its core and revealed that many health insurers do not enforce their guidelines or properly supervise their assessors, which can lead to systemic wrongdoing. If you have a legitimate health insurance […]

You Have a Duty to Mitigate Losses

Fri Jan 26th, 2018 on     Property Insurance,    

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 […]

Medically-Necessary Treatment and Health Insurance Denials

Fri Jan 19th, 2018 on     Health Insurance,    

In Florida — and in other jurisdictions throughout the country — many health insurance claims are denied on the basis of the insurer evaluating the treatment that their policyholder received as “medically unnecessary” or “medically inappropriate” given the circumstances of the injury or condition.  Despite the fact that most insurers view the claims filed by their policyholders as little more than a nuisance, the gritty reality is that a denial can be life-changing.  Denial of […]

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