Virtually all property insurance policies contain an appraisal clause, which outlines the appraisal procedure in broad terms. Those broad terms sometimes do not provide much guidance about the process, or about the effect which an appraisal award may have. A case in point is Graber v. State Farm Lloyds, 2015 WL 11120532 (N.D. Tex. 8/6/15). In Graber, plaintiff purchased a homeowner’s policy from State Farm Lloyds. Plaintiff claimed that the home suffered covered damage as a result of a hailstorm. State Farm Lloyds inspected the home and concluded covered hail damage was present in certain areas of the home. On this basis, State Farm Lloyds issued a payment to plaintiff for damage to those itemized areas. Plaintiff was unsatisfied with…
Blog Archives
Florida Regulators Approve Policy Language Aimed at Limiting “Assignments of Benefits” Claim Practice
Insurance companies that write property risks in Florida are getting in line to request approval from the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) for two key policy revisions intended to control losses from a water damage property claim practice called “assignment of benefits.” Many insurers have attributed the rising costs of water claims in Florida to an increase in the use of assignments of benefits (AOBs). This practice occurs primarily in the residential homeowners’ context and involves a situation where, following a water damage event, the insured assigns its rights and benefits under its insurance policy to a third-party contractor or water mitigation company. The water remediation contractor then bills the insurance company directly with rates that often substantially exceed the…
