Category: Insurance Law

States are bowing to home insurers’ demands for insurance rate increases and lesser consumer protections to prevent residents from losing coverage. In the past year, one state stopped vetoing rate requests, while others allowed insurers to reduce storm coverage or expand the types of associated costs when setting rates. A recent Wall Street Journal analysis …

Private information belonging to nearly 73 million people was recently discovered for sale on the dark web. They all had one very important aspect in common—they were all customers of AT&T, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the United States. Exposed data included personal identification numbers (PIN) and Social Security numbers, significantly increasing the …

If your home or business has been damaged in a natural disaster, you may feel thankful that you purchased insurance beforehand.  However, you may find that your insurance may not cover your losses.  The fine language of exclusions and riders often determines the actual coverage of the insurance policy.   An insurance policy may cover natural …

Understanding the extent of your homeowners’ insurance coverage is crucial.  This knowledge can guide you in purchasing the right coverage, potentially saving you from unexpected surprises in the future.  However, it is worth noting that dealing with an insurance company over a large claim can still present challenges. What Is Covered in Your Policy? In …

The New Jersey Appellate Division again agrees that ambiguous insurance policy language favors the Policyholder in recent decisions: In Motil v. Wausau Underwriters Ins. Co., (1471442), the Court held that declaration page language creates a reasonable expectation of coverage. In Romhen, et al. v. Franklin Mutual Insurance, Inc. (WL 1776130), the Court determined that policy limitation provisions extend …

Insurance companies often take a fair amount of time to respond to a claim.  They also frequently make low settlement offers to try to save money.  It is not easy to deal with an insurance company.  However, insurance companies have basic contractual obligations they need to meet. Whenever there is an insurance company involved, there is …

Policyholders often ask what happens if they report a claim late to the insurance company. There are important practical and legal reasons for giving timely notice to the insurance company, and you never want to take a chance by reporting a claim late. The requirements for notice vary based on your policy. An occurrence policy …

Before the insurance company makes a monetary offer, they need to decide that your damages are covered. They may believe your claim is excluded or does not fall within the policy’s coverage. Alternatively, they may have an issue with how you filed the claim. While you can always challenge the insurance company in court, you …

When you purchase an insurance policy, you expect the insurance company to cover the losses you suffer. In practice, it does not always work that way. You are currently involved in a complex contractual relationship with the insurance company. It helps to be familiar with the essential terms and concepts surrounding insurance so you can …