Why Labor Must Be Depreciated to Find ACV
The Supreme Court concluded that the term “ACV” is unambiguous and that depreciation of labor does not lead to underindemnification and failure to depreciate labor would result in overindemnification.
On My Radar
Failure to Sue Promptly Destroys Bad Faith Suit
Failure to Sue Within Policy’s Limitation Provision Fatal to Suit As I have said multiple times: “insurance is nothing more than a contract.” It is, also, a contract of the utmost good faith that devolves equally on the insurer and the insured. In that regard the insured is required to fulfill the conditions of the […]
Proof of Mailing Sufficient to Effect Cancellation
Court Trusts the United States Postal Service For an insurance contract to exist consideration – premium – must be paid. When an insured fails to pay the premium as required by the policy the insurer had the unquestioned right to cancel the policy it had issued. State legislatures, like that of the state of New […]
Insurance Policy Exclusion Must Be Enforced
Public Policy Only Applies if it Injuriously Affects a Material and Substantial Part of the Public Insurance exclusions, and all provisions of an insurance policy, must be enforced as long as they are clear and unambiguous unless the exclusion is in violation of the state’s public policy. Arguing that an exclusion of a policy is […]
The Temptation of Fraud
Innocent Young Lawyer Falls into Fraud Trap In California, a person can pass the Bar Exam and practice law even if he or she does not attend law school or attends a non-ABA accredited law school. Finding employment with a law firm is almost impossible for young lawyers who did not attend a prestigious law […]
Chiropractors Cannot Own & Control Medical Practice
“Doc-in-the-Box” Scheme Defeated Insurance fraud appears in many different schemes. When a chiropractor wishes to increase his practice and the fees charged in order to defraud insurers who compensate people injured in accidents, creates a “Doc-in-the-Box” scheme where the physician merely sells his or her name and license to a chiropractor for a fee, the […]
Appropriate to Effect “Forced-Placed Insurance”
Pay Your Mortgage and Keep Insurance or Lose Many people have – especially in the last ten years – had difficulty paying their mortgage and keeping the property insured as required by the mortgage documents. When the lender exercises its rights under the mortgage document, places “forced-placed insurance” to protect their security, they are often […]
PIA in Action
Several years ago at a PIA board meeting, we began to discuss an issue brought to us by a member through PIANY’s bi-annual Advisory Councils. Basically, when the New York State Department of Financial Services and Insurance transitioned its licensing requirements to an agent’s birthdate in 2012, the regulation had unintended consequences: While an agent’s […]
FBI Finds Insurance Frauds
The FBI lists the following common insurance fraud schemes in its Insurance Fraud Report at https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/insurance-fraud: Premium Diversion Premium diversion is the embezzlement of insurance premiums. It is the most common type of insurance fraud. Generally, an insurance agent fails to send premiums to the underwriter and instead keeps the money for personal use. Another […]
Agent Should Explain Effect of Coinsurance
Promise of Coverage Without Explanation of Coinsurance Can Be Fatal To Insurance Agent No one seems willing to read the insurance policy they purchased. When they have a loss and the failure to read the policy costs the insured money, he, she or it will always sue the insurance company and the insurance agent. Often, […]
