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Fourth District Court of Appeals–Condo Associations may not rely on Condominium Act for protection

6a010534acc2cc970c01156f8e783e970c-800wi.jpgThe Condominium Act in Florida states that insurers must cover damage to the exterior common elements. However, the 4th District Court of Appeal recently held that associations cannot rely on that provision to cover damages to those areas.

In a recent dispute between Citizens and River Manor Condo Association, Inc. (“Ass’n”) in Wilton Manors, the Court reversed $1.24M of a $6M damages awarded to the Ass’n for damages caused by Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Citizens argued that structures and landscaping separate from the buildings was excluded from coverage. In response the Ass’n cited the section in the Condominium Act that requires coverage for those damages. The Circuit Court Judge found conflict between the policy exclusions and the Act and found for the Ass’n.

The 4th District panel looked at the legislative intent and insisted that the Act was created to regulate associations not insurance companies because a subsection in the Act requires associations to use their “best efforts” to obtain such coverage and if the Act regulated insurers the subsection would be meaningless. However, the panel agreed that the “best efforts” language is ambiguous, and could lead to negative consequences in future application.

The Court interpreted the statute to mean that an association should use its best efforts to obtain insurance that covers the exterior elements of common areas but implicitly recognizes that due to market constraints this may be impossible. This means that insurance policy exclusions strictly construe the coverage of the association’s property and the association may not rely on the section of the Condo Act to “extend” coverage to those areas.

Insurance Company Gets Sanctioned and Admonished for Pursing a Frivolous Defense

Jury verdict.jpgFoolhardy conduct never pays. But every now and again insurance companies truly lose sight of their objectives. A recent case llustrates how unnecessarily difficult insurance companies can make the claims process. In that case, the insurance company ended up paying much more in the long run than it needed to pay if it only handled the claims process in good faith from the outset.

In Albelo v. Southern Oak Insurance Company, the insurance company was sanctioned for its egregious conduct in trying to force a disabled person into probate before it would even consider the claim. Fortunately, the appellate court concluded that the insurance company’s requirement that an insured who suffered from age related cognitive disabilities seek the appointment of a guardian for herself as a condition of maintaining her claim for damages to her home was frivolous, and warranted sanctions against the insurance company. If you find yourself in a situation where the insurance company is giving you the unnecessary run around regarding your insurance claim then please contact us today to discuss further.

Before commenting on the case, a little background is necessary regarding estate planning. As you age you may find it necessary and prudent to execute what is called a Durable Power of Attorney (POA). By doing so you choose who you would like to make decisions for you, and you decide how much authority they have if you’re ever unable to make those decisions for yourself. If you find yourself incapacitated, for instance, later on then the person you elect has the legal authority to make those decisions for you and their actions are as good as if you had acted for yourself.

On the other hand, should you decide not to execute a POA, and you find yourself incapacitated and involved with the court system, then the court will step in and appoint a Guardian for you. A Guardian acts just like the appointed POA. However, you usually don’t get the choice in selecting the court appointed Guardian.

Typically if there’s a valid POA there’s no need for a Guardian if the POA gives the person all the legal rights necessary to act on your behalf. But if you don’t have a POA, then you could find yourself in a situation where drawn out legal battles ensues such as what occurred in the Albelo case discussed in greater detail herein, or worse, what played out nationally with the Teri Schiavo case right here in Florida.

Nonetheless, the 3rd District Court of Appeals recent ruling in Albelo v. Southern Oak makes it clear that some insurance companies don’t seem to understand those distinctions even when they should.
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Ms. Albelo, at the time she executed a POA appointing her son, was 78 years old and had all of her mental capacities intact. Only about a month after the POA was executed she found herself the unfortunate victim of a home burglary and a year later she informed her insurance company, Southern Oak Insurance, about the burglary. Despite the time lapse, and purported late notice of the claim, the company acknowledged the loss and cut her a check for $1,690.00. However, a few months after reporting the loss to the company Ms. Albelo submitted a proof of loss form indicating that her damages totaled $57,760.66. Southern Oak argued that Ms. Albelo didn’t initiate the claim, but that it was fraudulently brought by her son. It is undisputed that Ms. Albelo now suffers from age-related cognitive disabilities, hence the POA which provided her son could continue making decisions for her despite any future incapacity.

Southern Oak argued that the claim was fraudulently induced by Ms. Albelo’s son and was not the product of her own capacity. Now, remember, she’s incapacitated and the insurance company knows this. Still Southern Oak pushes the issue of her incapacity, repeatedly stating that Ms. Albelo had to appoint a guardian for her in order to bring the suit. The company didn’t attack the validity of the executed POA nor did they argue that the POA was invalid because Ms. Albelo was incompetent when she executed it; the insurance company simply said that because she was incompetent a guardian had to be appointed for her to sue.

Fortunately for Ms. Albelo, the Appellate Court was so disgusted with the frivolous defense asserted by the insurance company that they issued an opinion solely to explain how ridiculous the insurance company’s actions were and then sanctioned the insurance company accordingly.

Florida Supreme Court Ruling Obliterates Common Law Bad Faith Claims

badfaith.jpgThe Florida Supreme Court recently eradicated some significant protections for Floridians in a case involving damage from Hurricane Wilma and dissatisfaction with QBE Insurance Corp.’s handling of the claim and its investigation. In that case Florida’s high court addressed several issues of significant import.

The first issue addressed by the Florida Supreme Court was whether Florida law recognizes a first-party claim for breach of implied warranty of good faith and fair dealing if an insurance company fails to investigate and assess the claim within a reasonable time? The court answered that no such claim existed in Florida.

In reaching its conclusion, the court reasoned that the legislative history indicates that there is no common law first-party bad-faith action in Florida, and limited insured parties to the statutory remedy of filing a bad faith claim. While Florida’s high court acknowledged that several Florida courts have concluded that such claims are permissible, the Court went on to reason that those courts misapplied Florida law. In other words, Florida’s Supreme Court concluded that insureds may only file a claim for bad faith and may not assert a separate claim for breach of the implied warranty of good faith and fair dealing under a first-party insurance claim.

Next, the Court determined if an insured party may bring a claim against the insurer for failure to comply with the statutory language and font-size requirements. QBE partially failed to comply with the notice requirements under the statute. QBE’s Hurricane Deductible notice contained the word “windstorm” instead of hurricane and the font-size was 16.5 instead of the required 18 point. The Court needed to determine if the failure to comply opened QBE up to liability to its insured.

Because the plain language of the statute does not prescribe a penalty for failure to comply with the word-choice and font-size requirements the Court next had to look at whether they would imply one. Looking at the legislative intent when the statute was enacted was important to the Court’s determination. Because the Legislature had provided, in other sections, liabilities for failure to abide by the statutes the Court reasoned that it was clear that it was not the legislature’s intent to impose harsh penalties on insurers who failed to comply with this particular section. The underlying purpose for notice requirements was part of a larger design to provide access to affordable housing insurance in the state through higher hurricane deductibles; the Legislature was not intending to create another avenue for insured parties to sue.

In addition, the notice requirement was created to make certain that the insured was aware of the deductible, and the Plaintiff here, did not argue they weren’t aware of the deductible only that the notice didn’t comply with statute requirements. The Court determined QBE could not be held civilly liable for the failure to comply with the statute requirements and that the judgment was reduced by the policy’s deductible.

The final issued the Court addressed revolved around policy language requiring QBE to remit payments upon a “final judgment.” The plaintiff argued that QBE failed to remit payment within 30 days following the trial court’s final judgment and therefore QBE waived its right to a stay of execution by procuring a bond. The Court disagreed determining that the words “final judgment” would not supersede the ability of a party to obtain a stay of execution by bond and that the “final judgment” wording included any appeal period thereafter.

Exceptions to Exclusions: Am I Covered or Not? Even the Insurance Company May Be Confused.

Thumbnail image for insurance policy.jpgIn those pages and pages of insurance documents explaining the coverage of your policy you’ll find exclusions that are not covered, but surprisingly, there might be some exceptions to those exclusions. Even the insurers did not seem to understand the headache of their own policy provisions in a case litigated in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

That case centered on a dispute between an apartment complex and several insurance carriers. The dispute stemmed from water damage caused by faulty workmanship in the construction of the building. The apartment building was covered by primary coverage and three additional layers of excess coverage under what’s called all-risk insurance.

So they should be covered for just about everything right? Not so fast. All of the policies had long and confusing list of coverage, and all the policies excluded coverage for faulty workmanship. However, the policy contained an ensuing loss exception, which had the potential to bring excluded losses back under coverage.

The exception language stated that if “loss or damage by a Covered Loss results, we will pay for that resulting loss or damage.”

While the apartment owners acknowledge that costs to repair the faulty workmanship itself are not covered, the water (a Covered Loss) that infiltrated and damaged the building should be covered because of the exception.

Not surprisingly, the insurers did not agree. The companies argued that the ensuing loss exception did not apply if the losses (the water damage) were directly related to the original excluded risk (the faulty workmanship). To support their argument the insurers cited several Florida cases where courts sided with companies regarding ensuing loss exceptions.

However, the Court could not support the argument because these cases were distinguishable from the facts before them. The other policies contained very specific language prohibiting excluded losses from being brought back within coverage through the ensuing loss exception. Because of that specific language those courts required a break in proximate cause. Meaning, the exception only covered damage that was not a foreseeable result of the original excluded cause.

Here, however, the policy offers no such terms, and the Court refused to change the meaning of the plain language of the policy.

This case illustrates just how important every word in a policy is, and how even slight deviations can drastically change the coverage.

The Aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaac in South Florida – What Do You Do If Your Property Was Damaged or Flooded? What About Your Business?

tropical_storm_issac,_generic_medium.jpgTens of thousands of homes and businesses remained without power Monday across South Florida as the remnants of Tropical Storm Isaac continue to wreak havoc for South Florida residents and businesses alike.

Heavy rains, and hail, have caused wide spread flooding and property damage. Strong wind gusts has caused trees to fall which has resulted in extensive property damage throughout South Florida.

Our storm damage attorneys stand prepared to assist you during this time of heavy rain and chaos. But now is also the time to ensure that you remain pro-active to protect yourself, your property and your business.

This significant weather event may have caused damage to your home, your property, or even your business. It is of critical importance that your damage be properly documented.

Start by taking photographs of the damages and properly inventorying your damage. Damage to your personal contents is of particular importance since it could be both time consuming and emotional to document.

Also, please take the necessary efforts to stop any further damage with your property as a result of the wind and rain coming from Tropical Storm Isaac. Keep all receipts and paperwork associated with such efforts and any emergency repairs you may need to take.

It will also be critical to determine whether or not your claim is a result of flooding, or wind. This distinction is critical to understand and in assessing your rights and applicable coverage available to you as a result of the damage sustained thanks to Tropical Storm Isaac.

What about your business? Well, if you have a business interruption policy then you may have coverage available to you as a result of Miami-Dade County Mayor’s decision to issue an evacuation order for people living in mobile home parks, unsafe structures, and areas prone to flooding. He also closed the Port of Miami.

As a result of this Order, businesses have been ordered to close until further notice. Such an order is commonplace when a natural disaster threatens, like Tropical Storm Isaac.

If your business purchased standard business income coverage then it is likely that your policy provides coverage for any loss of income caused by the Mayor’s decision to issue an evacuation order and close the Port of Miami.

Our firm stands ready to assist with your property damage needs and to battle with your insurance company to ensure proper compensation for your insurance claim. Whether you are a resident with damaged property, or a business owner who has sustained an interruption to your business as a result of Tropical Storm Isaac, call us today for a free consultation.

Insurance Claims for Property Contents – Content Inventories

Lady-House-Fire.jpgWhat is contents or personal property coverage is a common question that we are often asked when handling insurance claims. The simple answer is that contents coverage (or Coverage C (for State Farm it is often Coverage D)) is the portion of your home insurance policy that covers the cost of replacing your possessions, or home’s contents, in the event that they are destroyed in a covered peril (wind, fire, hail, lightening, theft, etc).

The more complex answer is that this is a form of available insurance coverage available to those that have sustained a significant loss, but it is also the part of the claim that is often very emotional. For instance, the homeowner that saw their home blown away during a hurricane is calling this claim the “everything I owned is gone” claim.

Often times these items that are lost are very personal. How do measure the value of your graduation frame? Or the treasured blanket given to you by your grandmother? Or your home computer with all the photos of your new born child? All of these items have strong sentimental value, and are the type of items that one moves from home to another when re-locating homes.

But when a significant loss occurs the property contents are often the items that are the most difficult to remember, and quantify. How often do you actually count how many bed sheets you own?

Given the emotional aspect of this claim, many insurance companies are insisting on detailed “inventory forms” as soon as possible to help them understand the extent of content damage they may have to pay under coverage C of the policy.

These content “inventory forms” are often a source of much dispute and confusion. It is not uncommon to prepare one, but then remember months later that you had omitted some very important items. Consequently, it is imperative that the “inventory form” list be properly, and completely prepared as soon as possible. But as you can see by the photo accompanying this post, preparing that inventory could be a daunting task when confronted with life altering adversity.

Therefore, how realistic is it to prepare this list in the face of a total and catastrophic loss? In such scenarios many folks are trying to simply survive day to day, and are not focused on prepare a list detailing all the treasured items that they have accumulated over the years that they just lost.

One of the best ways to handle this daunting task is to hire a professional to help handle this task. Hiring a contents inventory company may be money well spent. Public adjusters are also a wonderful resource that can help assist with the claims process in general. Our firm can also assist you with respect to the needs associated with the claims process and the specific issues of properly detailing your insurance claim.

The best time to prepare for this is actually now. Before a catastrophic event. Prepare an inventory of items you own today, and then after the storm you can assess the nature and full scope of your loss. This may certainly help in getting full and prompt contents loss payment under Coverage C of your policy after a properly completed “inventory form” has been submitted.

Are Insurance Companies Only Insuring You As Long As Nothing Happens? Insurers Go Missing After Catastrophic Losses

hurricane damage to homes.jpgInsurance companies often advertise how easy it is to become an insurance company’s customer. But they seldom, if ever, advertise how difficult it is to get an insurance company to pay for a claim, especially if the claim is after a catastrophic loss such as say a Hurricane.

Insurance companies have significantly and methodically decreased their financial responsibility for weather catastrophes like hurricanes and floods in recent years. Indeed, and after an extraordinary year last year for natural disasters, many insurance companies took steps to leave weather challenged states like Florida.

For instance, Allstate informed many of its North Carolina policy holders that would not renew homeowner policies that were not bundled with auto policies. Alfa Mutual Group announced that it would not renew 73,000 Alabama policy holders after tornadoes caused $11 billion dollars of property damage in Alabama last year.

Yet Florida is probably in the worst shape of any state in the country as it is the midst of an on going insurance crises in light of the fact that insurers have been dropping coverage since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. As a result, Florida’s premiums average $1,460 per home. That trails only the state of Texas for the average cost of insurance premiums. As a result, the state backed Citiznes Insurance Company has had to step in to cover some 1.5 million property via its publicly funded insurance company as insurers drop more and more homes each and every year. State Farm, for example, stopped writing new homeowner policies in Florida back in 2007.

Today, insurance companies are also offering less insurance coverage for more money. In other words, many policy holders are paying more money for less coverage. While rates have been increasing dramatically, coverages have been hallowed out.

With hurricane season upon us, it is important to check the financial strength of your property insurer. The reason for that is because a major storm could wipe out more than your home – it could wipe out an insurance company too. Not only should you check the financial strength of your insurance company, but you should also check, and understand, the scope of coverages you have purchased.
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If you are in doubt regarding your legal rights under the insurance policy, or you are in need of assistance with your insurance claim, please feel free to call us today to discuss your claim.

Your Insurance Company Denied Your Claim, and You’re Mad – Is It Time to Sue Them in Court?

insurance-claim-denied.jpgYou come home one day from your 14 day vacation in Europe only to discover that your septic tank ruptured. The mess is everywhere, and that rare China your Grandmother gave you on your wedding is smashed as a result of your frustration.

You immediately get on the phone with your insurance agent and your insurance company. But yet they inexplicably deny your claim.

You want to sue the insurance company, and you want justice.

But before you commit to taking your case to court, make sure this is a battle for which you’re truly prepared.

Lawsuits can be very costly in terms of time and energy, and they will also take an emotional toll too. So don’t enter into litigation lightly. If there is a chance of resolving the dispute amicably, consider that option.

You may never have gone to court before, but insurance companies do it all the time. Their lawyers know the ins and outs of the legal system. So it is important that you do wish to file suit, that you hire an attorney that is familiar with the courthouse and with battling insurance companies on a daily basis.

Here are steps you can take before resting your fate on the scales of justice.

1. Understand your duties and obligations as set forth in your insurance policy.

How do you do that exactly? Well, it may sound so obvious, but the first thing you need to do is to read and completely understand your insurance policy.

Often times insurance companies aggressively defend lawsuits not on the actual merits of the loss, but rather on conditions and obligations that the insured failed to do. It would be very unfortunate to be in such a situation. Especially when you consider that an insurance policy is a contractual relationship that binds both parties to certain obligations.

It is therefore critical that you, the insured, understand each and every one of those conditions. It doesn’t matter what your agent told you or what you heard on TV; the rules that must be followed are contained and found within the document you signed and in the insurance policy. And if you failed to follow those rules, and conditions, your lawsuit will likely fail.

If you don’t have a copy of your insurance policy, contact your agent. If you don’t understand your insurance policy, contact your agent or an attorney to help explain it to you.

2. What are the Odds that you Can Actually Beat the Insurance Company in Court?

Like with every important decision you ever make, you need to balance the pros and cons and perform a cost benefit analysis.

Never go to court unless you believe you have a very good chance of winning. The legal process is too costly to use merely to prove a point or assert your rights. If you file a suit to punish your insurer for things that went wrong during the claims process, you may end up being the one who is punished by wasting time and money.

3. Work with, not against, your insurance company during the claims process.

If your insurance company calls you, call them back. If your insurance company wants to inspect the property, let them do so. If your insurance company wants you to give a sworn statement, hire a lawyer and then make sure to appear for the sworn statement.

And even if you do everything the insurance company asks of you, it is possible that the insurance company will still deny your claim. But if they do, try to resolve the claim one more time before filing suit.

Litigation should be a tool of last resort, not first. Explore all potential settlement options prior to filing suit.

4. Find a lawyer that has experience fighting the insurance companies.

If you decide to go forward with your lawsuit, you may need to find an attorney who will work on a contingency basis, taking his or her pay out of any settlement you win. If you agree to pay your lawyer this way, the fee will be a percentage of whatever is awarded. In highly adversarial insurance disputes, lawsuits can drag on for years, however.

Find an advocate who isn’t afraid to go up against the big guys. You need someone who has a track record fighting and winning against the insurance companies.

5. Be patient, lawsuits take time.

Lawsuits often become waiting games. It easily can take a year or more to resolve a case. Attorneys representing insurance companies sometimes use delaying tactics to throw their opponents off their game or build up their own hourly fees. Expect these kinds of legal maneuvers and don’t let them shake you.
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Our Miami insurance dispute lawyers handle insurance claims for homeowners. Our attorneys represented insurance companies before 2006, when we opened a firm dedicated to fighting for the rights of consumers. We understand how insurance companies work. And we have the knowledge and experience necessary to represent homeowners in disputes over an insurance claim.

Is Your Insurance Claim Barred If You Fail To Comply With All Of The Conditions Set Forth In Your Insurance Policy Prior To Filing a Lawsuit?

insurance5.jpgEvery insurance policy written in Florida contains numerous conditions that are imposed on the policy holder/insured. The policy holder must adhere to those conditions precedent before it can file a lawsuit against the insurance company. Those conditions are present so as to permit an insurance company to properly and timely investigate a claim.

The conditions typically involve providing “immediate” notice to an insurance company of the loss. An insured will typically need to allow the insurance company an opportunity to inspect the loss. The insured may be required to sit for an examination under oath, and may also be required to submit a sworn proof of loss. These are just but a few examples of the many conditions precedent found in an insurance policy.

Sometimes an insured may rush to court and file a lawsuit when the conditions precedent may have not all been satisfied. Or the lawsuit may have been filed after a delay in notifying the insurance company of the loss.

If you are in doubt regarding your legal rights under the insurance policy, or you are in need of assistance with your insurance claim, please feel free to call us today to discuss your claim.

Nonetheless, insurance companies typically attack such lawsuits on grounds that the insured failed to follow all the terms and conditions found in the insurance policy prior to filing the lawsuit.

Under Florida law, where an insured delayed in notifying an insurer of a potential claim, the insured must rebut the presumption that the delay prejudiced the insurer. Tiedtke v. Fid. & Cas. Co. of New York, 222 So.2d 206, 209 (Fla. 1969); XL Ins. America, Inc. v. Ortiz, 673 F. Supp. 2d 1331 (S.D. Fla. 2009); Keenan Hopkins Schmidt and Stowell Contractors, Inc. v. Continental Cas. Co., 653 F. Supp. 2d 1255 (M.D. 2009).

Therefore, Florida law provides that the failure to give timely notice creates a rebuttable presumption of prejudice to the insurer. However, that presumption may be overcome by the introduction of evidence tending to show that the insurer was in fact not prejudiced by the late notice.

Simply stated, although prejudice is presumed, this does not preclude recovery if the insured can show an actual lack of prejudice. National Gypsum Co. v. Travelers Indem. Co., 417 So. 2d 254 (Fla. 1982). Put differently, such presumption that the Defendant was prejudiced is overcome by a showing that the insurer was not deprived of an opportunity to investigate the facts of the incident at issue. Bankers Ins. Co. v. Macias, 475 So.2d 1216 (Fla. 1985).

In Haiman v. Federal Insurance Co., 798 So.2d 811 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001), the Fourth District Court of Appeal stated:

A total failure to comply with policy provisions made a prerequisite to suit under the policy may constitute a breach precluding recovery from the insurer as a matter of law. If, however, the insured cooperates to some degree or provides an explanation for its noncompliance, a fact question is presented for resolution by a jury.

As set forth above, if a policy holder cooperates to “some degree” or “provides an explanation for its noncompliance”, then the policy holder’s claim may not be barred as a matter of law.

On the other hand, if there was no cooperation of any kind then the claim may be barred all together. Take, for example, the case of Edwards v. State Farm, 64 So.3d 730 (Fla. 3d 2011). In Edwards, the Third District Court of Appeal concluded that: (1) the insurance company made requests for specific, basic documents relating to the loss that were never provided; (2) Edwards knew that, on numerous occasions, the insurance company requested Edwards submit to an examination under oath at a mutually convenient place and time, and he did not; and (3) Edwards never submitted any documents relating to the costs he alleges he expended to repair his roof.

In that case, the Court threw out Edwards’s claim for failing to comply with all the conditions precedent, and failing to even cooperate to “some degree” and failing to “provide an explanation for its noncompliance.”
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In sum, the best practice is ensure strict and complete compliance with all of the insurance policy’s conditions prior to filing a lawsuit. This will allow you to pursue your claim on the merits of your loss as opposed to fighting with the insurance company on issues immaterial to your loss.

If you are in doubt regarding your legal rights under the insurance policy, or you are in need of assistance with your insurance claim, please feel free to call us today to discuss your claim.

Adjusters Hired By Insurance Companies are Seldom Disciplined

david_goliath_1.jpgWhenever a small business or individual files an insurance claim, it often turns into a battle between the claimant’s adjuster and the insurance company’s adjuster. In many ways, it’s a fight between David and Goliath due to the difference in resources available to each side. As a result, you would think that our government would do a better job of leveling the playing field. However, whenever David does something wrong he is often punished by state officials. On the other hand, when Goliath mishandles a claim, the chances of a crack down are very slim.

Here is a very telling fact that shows the amount of power insurance companies have in Florida: when there’s a complaint against an insurance company’s adjuster there’s a less than 16 percent chance the adjuster will be disciplined; however, whenever there’s a complaint against a public adjuster, representing a home owner, or business owner, there’s a 75 percent chance the state will discipline that person.

On both sides there are certainly adjusters that need to be investigated and disciplined. By and large, most adjusters approach their jobs with honesty and complete professionalism. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared to file a complaint against an insurer’s adjuster for mishandling a claim.

During the claims process make sure to request and keep all documents related to the claim. Also, keep a journal noting phone calls and the dates and people you spoke to. Make sure to check the licenses for any adjuster, contractors or roofers helping with your claim. This can be done at www.myfloridacfo.com. Lastly, if you feel that your claim is being mishandled, don’t hesitate to immediately contact the Department of Financial Services.

The insurance claim process is often daunting and time-consuming. At Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, we have the resources and expertise to properly help you with your insurance claim especially if your claim is being mishandled by your insurance company, or the adjuster hired by your insurance company.
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Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

Before opening our law firm in 2006, our attorneys worked for some of the state’s, and nation’s, largest law firms, and worked representing the insurance companies for years. Our attorneys are now uniquely positioned to use that experience to assist individuals and businesses alike throughout Florida with their insurance claims. As a result, our attorneys are well versed in the impact insurance has on businesses, condominiums, and individuals alike. Our insurance litigation practice group is prepared to tackle your insurance claim.

Given our extensive experience litigating for, and against, insurance companies, our insurance litigation practice group is prepared to provide aggressive, efficient and effective representation on a broad spectrum of insurance claims in Florida for local, national, and international clients. We are prepared to advocate insurance claims at the pre-suit stage, trial, appellate and arbitration levels.

If you are facing a dispute over an insurance claim in Florida, contact Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

About the AuthorGabriel de las Salas is an attorney with the law firm of Alvarez & Barbara, LLP. His practice is focused on general civil and commercial litigation, including personal injury, insurance claims and real estate disputes. Mr. de las Salas received his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Florida, and his J.D., from Stetson University College of Law.

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