No need to sugar-coat my opinion about lawyers. But, lest you think I’m just being mean, the crux of this article is that lawyers make reasonable and even good recommendations without knowing the insurance ramifications. An unfortunate loss situation is the basis for this article.
Attorney Randy Maniloff introduces us to the difference between “the” insured and “an” or “any” insured in the insurance policy. Many ignore these little words (“the,” “an” or “any”) in the policy, but, as Randy states, policy language is king, and these seemingly innocuous words have an amazing affect on coverage.
Valued policy laws require the insurance carrier to pay the face amount of the policy if the structure is a “total loss.” In these situations, it does not matter if the replacement cost is less than the face amount. This article links to a list of states with valued policy laws and the particulars of…
Not to be overly dramatic, but ordinance or law is a very real personal lines exposure – often overlooked during the personal lines risk management and insurance planning process. Agents must explain the exposure, the coverage limits and the options. This article lays out the coverage, the problems and the options.
Underinsurance is still a problem. According to CoreLogic approximately 60 percent of homes are underinsured by 20 percent on average. Obviously, this leads to devastating results for the insured, and possibly the agent from an E&O perspective. We know this in the industry, but now the NY Times is reporting it – and they are…
Home sharing hosts have exposures not common to many homeowner clients, a business income exposure. When an unexpected loss occurs, the home owner losses a source of revenue. Does the homeowners’ insurance respond to this exposure? Check out this fictionalized interview to get the answer to this question.
Vacant land, or what qualifies as vacant land, is a common question for the VU. Two recent “Ask an Expert” questions specific to vacant land indicated the need to address the question again.
Everyday agents are asked, well required, by banks to provide Coverage A limits in excess of the developed replacement cost. Why are such requests made? So that Coverage A limits match the loan requirements of course. Mortgagees tend to forget that the loan buys more than just the structure; it includes the land and location,…
More than one-third of homeowners’ insurance liability claims are attributable to dog bites according to a 2016 Insurance Information Institute (III) report. III reported that the average cost of a dog-bite claim in 2015 was $37,214 – a 94 percent increase since 2003.
This piece answers three condo questions for unit owners. First, when the unit owner is responsible for insuring unit improvements and betterments, is this limited to improvements made by them or any previous owner? Second, should the unit owner’s mortgagee be added as an additional insured or mortgagee on the association’s master policy? And lastly,…