There is a quiet but profound shift in how insurers handle property insurance claims. For decades, the gold standard of claims handling involved a trained field adjuster who inspected the loss, evaluated the damage, and had the authority to move the claim toward resolution. That model is eroding. Today, we are seeing the rise of …

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The insurance industry has always adapted to new tools to improve underwriting. From boots-on-the-roof inspections to high-resolution satellite imagery, the goal has remained to evaluate risk accurately and price it appropriately. But as I noted in I Was Droned: California Policyholders Are Being Monitored Regarding Their Loss Risk Exposure and Loss Mitigation Attempts, somet...

For anybody with a State Farm appraisal, a recent Pennsylvania federal court decision should be studied. In Coutts v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, 1 the court granted summary judgment to State Farm on a bad faith claim, not because State Farm proved it handled the claim perfectly, but because the policyholders failed to navigate …

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A recent decision involving a Florida hotel should be studied by commercial policyholders, insurance agents, and property insurance claims professionals. The case, Touchmark Hotel Group, LLC v. Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, 1 reminds us that insurance coverage disputes are often decided not by the severity of the damage or the fairness of the claim, but …

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A recent Colorado federal court decision is one of those cases that should be studied carefully by anyone representing policyholders. 1 It is not a case about whether hail damage is covered. The court acknowledged that hail damage is covered. It is not even truly about whether the property sustained damage. Instead, it is about …

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