Proposed Umpires to an Insurance Appraisal Should Disclose Possible Conflicts...
Umpires appointed or selected to an insurance appraisal panel should be fair and unbiased. However, I am certain that parties to an insurance appraisal hope the umpire is "unbiased" in their favor....
View ArticleInsurance Appraisal Called "Almost Perfect Method" of Alternative Dispute...
Law professor Johnny C. Parker recently published a law review article, Understanding The Insurance Policy Appraisal Clause: A Four-Step Program, where he claims that resolving property insurance...
View ArticleInsurance Companies Always Fight Requests for Production of Internal Claims...
Many policyholders think that insurance company adjusters get an individual bonus on each claim for paying less than a certain amount. They distrust the insurance company adjuster and often creatively...
View ArticleAdjustment Time and Wrongful Denial Considered in Period of Restoration
Merlin Law Group attorney Corey Harris asked me, “do you know of a case that stands for the proposition that when estimating the period of restoration, do you consider the amount of time needed for...
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Kevin McCarty Presented With Lifetime Achievement Award
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty obtained a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Association For Insurance Reform. His acceptance speech was brilliant, engaging,...
View ArticleRMAPIA Conference and Insurance Company Hail Damage Experts
The Rocky Mountain Association of Public Insurance Adjuster's Fall Conference (RMAPIA) is tomorrow. Merlin Law Group attorney David Pettinato and I will be presenting practical issues of public...
View ArticleOverhead and Profit Workshop For Restoration Contractors in Dallas on October 1
Insurance restoration contractors and public adjusters often complain that many insurance companies will instruct their field adjusters to do just about anything to exclude paying general contractor...
View ArticleAnti-Concurrent Cause Exclusions Invite Unreasonable Denials and Worthless...
Peter N. Swisher, a Law Professor at University of Richmond Law School, wrote an article recently published in the Tulane Law Review, with a title containing the question every insurance customer...
View ArticleDo Insurance Companies Hiring Haag Engineering Follow the Golden Rule? Come...
HAAG's chief engineer and owner, Tim Marshall, made at least 25% of his personal income from State Farm and was designated as an "impartial" appraiser. If you were his mother, sister or relative, would...
View ArticleAre Property Insurers Subject to Antitrust Lawsuits Through Pricing...
One trend in the insurance claims business is to control and manage the repair of buildings and homes following an insured loss. While many companies share pricing information through Xactimate and...
View ArticleTexas Court Finds That Appraiser Does Not Have to Be Impartial If Policy Does...
On a recent Texas public adjuster listserv which is monitored by Steve Hadhazi, Steve asked whether a public adjuster must be "impartial" if the appraisal clause has this language: If we and you do not...
View ArticleIs The Use of Runners and Cappers in Texas Going To Result in Prosecution of...
Speeches are significant, especially ones where courage is important to say what is really going on in the world. On Wednesday, I will be giving a speech about Texas attorneys using runners to obtain...
View ArticlePublic Adjusters Entitled to Fee Even After Claim Settles in Litigation
Public adjusters provide valuable services to policyholders. Even if a claim goes to litigation because of denial or disagreement, the public adjuster's contract is still valid. A New York case decided...
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Meeting Mr. Whammy at Superstorm Sandy Settlement Conferences
I just finished giving a presentation about insurance contract interpretation at FAPIA's fall conference, and it seemed very well received. It takes a special passion to keep people on the edge of...
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Will Hurricanes Return to the Gulf Coast in 2016? One Model Predicts They Will
Hurricane prognostication is akin to reading tea leaves and palms to determine one's future. But, what is it about human nature that we seem to love this crazy guessing over the weather? A picture is...
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Happy Thanksgiving From Merlin Law Group
Merlin Law Group wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!
View ArticleColorado Appraisal: Department of Insurance Sets Bias Standards for...
Just as I was thinking about Colorado mountains and finishing the booking of my Christmas ski trip to Beaver Creek, the Colorado Department of insurance delivers Bulletin No. B-5.26, Requirements...
View ArticleWhy Should Insurance Company Adjusters, Attorneys, and Expert Vendors Attend...
I can answer the question above with a post I wrote almost seven years ago, The 2009 Windstorm Insurance Conference: The Windstorm Insurance Conference was founded nearly a decade ago byinsurance...
View ArticleInsurance Company Attorneys Should Be Careful Adjusting and Investigating Losses
The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) is holding its Mid-Year Meeting close to our office in Scottsdale, Arizona today and Saturday. Preparing for my speech tomorrow, I ran...
View ArticleHarvey Goodman Named NAPIA Man of The Year
Past NAPIA President Harvey Goodman, picked up another well-deserved accolade by his colleagues by being named 2015 NAPIA Man of the Year. I ran a quick legal search on Goodman and found this brief...
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