Appraisal

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This case generally reaffirms the commitment of the Florida courts to contractual appraisal rights in the absence of waiver. In First Protective Ins. Co., v. Schneider Family Partnership, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 19701 (Fla. 2nd DCA, Nov. 14, 2012), the court addressed a claim for insurance coverage for property damage sustained during Hurricane…

Consistent with its general support of Alternate Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) procedures, Florida promulgated a mediation procedure for property insurance claims. Fla. Stat. § 627.7015 (2010). This statute contains a provision which, should the insurer fail to comply with mediation notice requirements, can result in a waiver of the insurer’s appraisal rights under the insurance policy.…

The Texas Court of Appeals has reaffirmed established Texas law, holding that the entry of an appraisal award in favor of the policyholder does not, by itself, establish that the insurer is obligated to pay the award or that the policyholder is entitled to judgment in the amount of the award. Security National Ins. Co. …

A few weeks ago, we reported on the Florida appellate court’s decision in Trafalgar At Greenacres, LTD v. Zurich American Ins. Co., No. 4D11-1376 (Fla. 4th DCA, Sept. 5, 2012), in which the court permitted a policyholder to sue its property insurer for bad faith even though the trial court had ruled that the…

When the amount of damages for a loss is in dispute, typical property policies allow either the insured or the insurer to invoke the appraisal process. In general, the purpose of the appraisal procedure in property policies is to avoid litigation when coverage is not in dispute, but valuation of the loss is in dispute.…

As mentioned in my May 3, 2012 blog post, courts are frequently asked to determine whether an appraisal award should be overturned. Recently, the Second Circuit was asked to consider the timeliness of an appraisal demand, whether the determination of the period of restoration implicates a coverage issue of the type appraisers cannot decide, and…

Insurance appraisal awards are frequently the subject of court decisions because of difficulties appraisal panels face when tasked with determining the amount of a loss, especially when the loss implicates potential coverage issues.  In the most recent decision coming out of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, an appraisal…