Today marks the official start of hurricane season, and what more appropriate way to kick off the season than with a new decision from the Florida Supreme Court involving damage to a Boca Raton condo building from Hurricane Wilma, the last major hurricane to hit Florida. Yesterday’s decision in QBE Insurance Corp. v. Chalfonte Condominium …
Lawyers and business people often use the terms self-insured retention (“SIR”) and deductible interchangeably, but there are important differences. When a policy has a deductible, the insurer is obligated to defend and indemnify on a first-dollar basis. The amount of the deductible is then reimbursed by the policyholder at the end of the claim. In contrast, …
The Eleventh Circuit recently issued a lengthy opinion in Amerisure Mut. Ins. Co. v. Auchter Co., No. 10-10960 (11th Cir. Mar. 15, 2012) (“Auchter”), in which it dove back into insurance coverage issues involving construction defects. Unlike the Florida Supreme Court decisions in United States Fire Ins. Co. v. J.S.U.B., Inc., 979 So. 2d 871 (Fla. 2007) (“J.S.U.B.”), …
It’s time to get back to my list of Top 10 Commercial Insurance Myths and Misconceptions. Today we discuss misconception #3: Fraud Claims Are Not Covered. This issue most frequently arises in the D&O insurance context, which I discuss below, but it arises in other contexts as well. Many types of claims, including general liability, …
On March 2, Auto-Owners Insurance Company dropped its Eleventh Circuit appeal of a Middle District of Florida decision granting summary judgment to its policyholder on defense and indemnity coverage for Chinese drywall liabilities. The district court’s opinion, authored by Judge Susan Bucklew in Tampa, denied Auto-Owners’ summary judgment motion seeking to avoid coverage obligations based on the pollution …
Let’s take a short break from the top 10 insurance myths series to discuss a recent Eleventh Circuit decision that might seem a bit puzzling at first. (Hat tip to my friend Dan Thomas, construction lawyer extraordinaire at Leopold Law, for sending me a copy of the opinion.) In Ruderman v. Washington National Insurance Corp., …
Commercial insurance is complicated, and decisions regarding what insurance to buy and whether to assert or pursue an insurance claim frequently are based on false assumptions about what risks are covered. Below is a list of 10 of the most common misconceptions regarding commercial liability insurance. In the coming days, I will examine each of …
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