Forum Forum Selection Clauses in Excess Policies

My experience working inside the claims process shapes how I advocate for policyholders today. When I review a claim file, I look beyond the final decision and the explanation in the denial letter. I examine how that decision developed: who was involved, what information they received, and what the claim notes reveal about the direction … The post Reading Between the Lines: How Claim Notes—or Their Absence—Tell the Whole Story appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

California homeowners whose homes survive a wildfire may nevertheless face extensive smoke contamination, remediation, and displacement. A new California law is designed to change how insurers investigate and handle those claims. On September 15, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act. The California Department of Insurance describes the measure … The post California’s New Smoke-Damage Law Changes the Rules for Wildfire Insurance Claims appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

In a recent post, If Commercial Property Repairs Cost Less Than ACV, Does the Insurance Company Get the Difference Back, we discussed The Breakwater Commons Association, Inc. v. Empire Indemnity Insurance Company and the distinction between actual cash value and replacement cost under a commercial property insurance policy. That litigation has now reached the Eleventh … The post What Counts as Actual Cash Value: The Breakwater Dispute Heads to the Eleventh Circuit appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

Thirty years ago, I was chasing McKinsey & Company for testimony and documents about the claims systems it helped insurance companies create. Allstate’s Claim Core Process Redesign became the most famous example, but State Farm also paid McKinsey millions to study claims costs and processes. Those discovery battles taught me an important lesson: that consultants … The post New Consultant but the Same Cat-and-Mouse Game: Who Has State Farm’s Accenture Claims Analysis and Documents? appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

A few weeks ago, I wrote California Is About to Change the Rules for Wildfire Smoke Claims. California has officially enacted the nation’s first comprehensive statutory framework for determining whether homes with wildfire smoke damage are safe and how insurers must handle covered claims involving those homes. The newspaper headlines understandably focused on Governor Newsom and … The post California’s Wildfire Smoke Laws Are Signed, and Survivors Drove Them There appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

For many wildfire claims, the two-year anniversary starts the extension analysis rather than ending coverage Many Palisades and Eaton fire survivors are being told, or fear, that additional living expense coverage will end on January 7, 2027, exactly two years after the fires. That date matters. It is not an automatic expiration date. California law … The post Palisades and Eaton Fire ALE Coverage Does Not Automatically End on January 7, 2027 appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

I have written several times about the number of Palisades and Eaton fire homes that remain untouched more than a year after the fires. Many of these homes are still full of contents, remediation has never really begun, and the homeowners remain displaced while their Additional Living Expense coverage continues to run. I discussed that … The post Before Filing a Wildfire Smoke Lawsuit, Should You Try to Clean the Home First? appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

If State Farm hoped Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s lawsuit would disappear before anybody started digging much deeper into the allegations, that did not happen Monday. Cleveland County District Judge Jeff Virgin denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss the Attorney General’s case, State of Oklahoma ex rel. Drummond v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Case … The post State Farm’s Oklahoma Hail Fight Just Got More Interesting appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

Two businesses can suffer comparable hurricane damage and face very different recovery paths. One can retrieve its insurance policy, sales history, payroll records, inventory, photographs, and vendor contacts even though its building is inaccessible. The other must reconstruct the same information from bank statements, suppliers, employees, and memory. Both businesses may have legitimate losses. Only … The post Can Your Business Pass the One-Hour Hurricane Claim Readiness Test appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

On September 21, 2026, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency. California residents should prepare now for potential severe weather conditions El Niño may bring this rain season. Storms, Flash floods, rapid water rise, river overflow, power outages, landslides, mudslides, and sewer backups are to be expected. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), the … The post Is Your Home Adequately Insured for El Niño? appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

As ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific are expected to rise, scientists predict this could become the strongest El Niño on record. On September 21, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. What is El Niño, and how can homeowners prepare for a wet winter? El Niño is a recurring climate pattern … The post The Year of the “Super El Niño”: What California Policyholders Need to Know appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .

Florida insurance regulation occasionally produces a story that sounds like it was written for a “Florida Man” contest. The state hires an experienced insurance financial examiner to study money moving between property insurers and affiliated companies. She delivers a 159-page report. Years later, the current Insurance Commissioner says the work contains substantial errors. The consultant … The post Florida’s Secret Insurance Report: Too Flawed to Trust and Too Secret to Check? appeared first on Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog .