Insurance Legal Questions

Fight? Sure. But too many people use junk speak to translate effort into achievement, so that you are really asking can you WIN. The answer to that is - no way to tell until the fight is over. Generally, either they have a signed waiver request or they don't under Fla. Stat. 627.712. Your recollection of this or that is of no consequence. If there was a credit for it - this suggests that someone actually made such a request during the period of the policy, presumably to lower the premium. If there was no complying written request, that is certainly favorable as much as if they do, problematic. The other issue is whether you can insure the roof at all, as this may be a common area subject to the condo association insurance,  not yours, where your claim may be for the consequential losses from the roof compromise from your carrier or the condo association. Thats one reason to retain a lawyer to address this type of issue ASAP. ... Read More

You can purchase a retroactive date for many types of liability insurance policies, but no insurer will retroactively cover a known exposure. When buying a retro date, you need to verify that that you have no known lossess or occurences. You can count on known lossess, claims or even occurences being excluded specifically from coverage. Find an attorney with insurance experience to address the particulars of your situation.... Read More

You have the right to challenge the replacement of the carpet. You just need to be sure you are correct, as you could end upo paying for the carpet and the LL legal fees if the court says the charges were proper. If you returned the property with the carpet visibly stained - the LL have have a valid claim. The key is whether they lied and just kept the money and did not replace the carpet before renting again. ... Read More

The answer is possibly yes. In theory, your insurance claim should cover most if not all of the loss damage to your vehicle. The note holder, as the owner of an secured interest in the vehicle (it's in the Note!) gets all the proceeds from the insurance claim until their  interest is satisfied. Any loss you incur are actual damages and you can sue the other driver to recover any shortage as they are responsible. What you get paid depends on your policy.  Good luck.... Read More

You expect to have the insurance carrier pay out on the policy but then think you are entitled to a refund of the policy? It simply doesn't work that way. If they have cancelled the policy and you want to keep it, you can appeal or dispute the termination of the policy. Suing is not typically viable to maintain coverage as its simply not cost effective. ... Read More

and this is an issue - why? If you have concerns that there are violations of adjusting rules or protocol - then you can report this to the HR department or to the Florida Department of Insurance. To be clear, you are there to help the employer - not them to help you. If you cannot handle the job, then let your employer know so they can recall you and deploy someone else, or seek other employment that may be more accomodating. ... Read More

The insurance company only has to send one notice to one address, which I assume your son received. They do not have to send separate notices to both owners if the two owners have separate addresses. It's impossible to be certain with reviewing the contract that you actually signed, but the standard auto financing contracts say it is the owner's responsibility to keep insurance, and that the lender at its sole option can purchase signle interest coverage. Notice I said option. The lender is not required to purchase insurance when full coverage lapses. The standard financing contract says IF there is insurance, the owner must allow the insurance proceeds to benefit the lender. You and your son are responsible for both repairing the car and continuing to make the required loan payments. Neither the insurance company or the lender did anything wrong here, in my opinion. You sould take all of the paperwork to an attorney for a specific, personalized consultation.... Read More

There are two questions here. The first question is more of a question of whether someone can report you to the police and get a citation issued. The answer is yes if the police are convinced that they can show that you were brake checking, driving recklessly, or exhibiting road rage.  Evidence can be a dash cam and witnesses.  A dash cam could easily convince the police that you should be issued a ticket.   The second question relates to a civil lawsuit.  Normally a person cannot file a lawsuit against you because they cannot establish damages from whatever happened as long as no one was hurt and no property damaged.           ... Read More

  Hello Carson,  More facts are needed which can be discussed in consultation with an Insurance Claims attorney who can investigate this matter on your behalf.   An experienced professional can guide and advise you and evaluate your  claim. However, if you are interested in consulting with one of us, you will have to reach out, as attorneys are unable to directly solicit on this forum. Do not delay so as not to prejudice your rights.... Read More

You should be able to get either letters of administration issued by a probate court, which would give you the legal authority to act on behalf of the estate. But if your son died with assets that are minimal, probate may be avoided per the state's small affidavit process. So you should pursue the route of a small state affidavit which would give you the authority to receive his mail and collect other important documents. ... Read More

To avoid being a total loss, the truck would need to be worth $3,500 if it costs $2,800 to repair. Call a Car/ Truck Accident Attorney for consultation. We all give free consultations. You may be entitled to loss of use. It depends upon the timing. Plus sales tax.    If you've been injured, you should really speak with a Personal Injury attorney, asap. ... Read More

Whether Bodily Injury Liability (BI) coverage is required or not has two main areas of law to consider.  Bodily Injury Liability coverage is not required to drive an automobile in Florida legally. However, it can be if you have been convicted of a DUI. Under Florida Statue 324.023, Financial responsibility for bodily injury or death, you must have bodily injury insurance if you are convicted of a DUI. If you were convicted on or before October 1, 2007, the minimum requirement is $10,000 per person and $20,000 per incident. If you were convicted after October 1, 2007, the minimum required is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. According to the Statute, you must have BI coverage for 3 years after the return of your driving privileges. Suppose you choose to drive without BI coverage. In that case, it is important to know that Florida has a Florida Financial Responsibility Law, which requires that a person who is at fault for an accident must provide financial coverage of at least $10,000 per person and $20,000 per accident. This means that if you cause an accident that results in bodily injuries to another person(s), you must either have BI insurance or post a bond for the required amount of coverage. If this “responsibility” is unmet, you can lose your driving privileges. You will also be required to make financial arrangements to pay for any judgment against you for property damage and bodily injuries before you can get your driver’s license reinstated. ... Read More

Sorry that you have been having serious mental and physical issues as a result of the accident and fallout.  What kind of policies are involved? Please include whether it is a 1st party (you retained the carrier directly with a policy designed to protect your rights and interests) or third party(where a third party acquires the information for another party.   Please also let me know the types of coverage that may be avaiable under the various policies (for example, work comp, self administered / self insured governmental or special district, general liability, D&O, disability, accidental death and dismemberment AD&D, critical illness or condition coverage, alternate limited cash benefit policies (such as Aflac and other similar providers), and EAP or medical benefits coverage programs. Many EAPs have 24 hour availabile counselors to help with medical and mental issues and some focus on military members and first responders so you will get even better service in that regard.  You may want to use that benefit.  Please reply with the request info.  Your "ideal" case would be a portfolio suite with every coverage under the sun written on a first party basis. The real world often ends up with just third party general liability coverage for a claim under a third party caused motor vehicle accident.  The standards are lower for these cases and more difficult to prevail on.  Please provide details on the specific coverages and a summary chronology log of when information was provided and when did they respond. For any period of delays, we examine when you sent in info and then look at the delay of when the reply was provided. We further examine their response meets the legal requirements and if any extensions of time were requested in advance and reflected a proper insurance purpose.   If you are fortunate to have a first-party policy, you can potentially recover treble damages for any unreasonable delay if you can establish bad faith violations.  I apologize I was not able to provide a definite answer. To give a comfortable indication of potential outcomes I need the additional information. Please note the above is general legal information. IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE and should not be used in making any decision to proceed or not to proceed. Any engagement with our firm, if accepted, would be subject to successful completion of our internal conflict check process. Hope this information is helpful in the interim.  Wishing you strength, comfort, peace for the holidays and your efforts to get insurance coverage you are entitled to receive in a timely manner. Kind regards, Cyrus Rajabi Jones & Keller, PC  ... Read More

When another person's insurance company refuses to pay, you can sue the insured (e.g., the other driver) or file a claim on your own policy if you have the proper coverage. Complaining to the Insurance Commission or suing the insurance company will not get you anywhere. In deciding how to proceed, you may also need to consider the reason for the insurance company’s refusal to pay. If the insurance company refused to pay because they don't believe their driver was at fault, then a lawsuit may help. But if the driver simply had no coverage, e.g. because the insurance policy had lapsed, then suing will not make the insurance company to pay.... Read More

In most states, the people that are civilly liable for any traffic collisions are the at fault driver, and second the title owner of the vehicle. If you're fiancé or wife was on the insurance policy, but was not driving at the time of the accident, and in no way contributed to the fault of that accident, and did not co-own or own the vehicle that was involved in the accident, I don't see any circumstances in which she would be sued or could be sued for this traffic collision. But ultimately, you would need to discuss this in a sit down conference call or a phone conversation with counsel in your jurisdiction where the accident happened to determine the liability of all parties. Good luck... Read More