Insurance Dispute Lawyer Blog

States rolling dice by not seeking reinsurance

Published on: August 18, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The New York Times recently brought up a casualty of the economic climate facing many states: the cost/benefit analysis being made by states in regards to insurance against dangerous storms. Often extremely costly and unnecessary, this reinsurance looks to bolster defenses against disastrous natural calamities but, with budget cuts at a premium, states are beginning to count every dollar and looking to go without.

Public insurance programs in some coastal states are flirting with the notion of saving millions of dollars every year by shrinking or canceling the coverage they buy from private reinsurers — the deep-pocketed companies that insure insurers whose exposure to loss exceeds the budgets of some nations.

States are the insurers in this case. And they are either tired of paying piles of cash for reinsurance policies that are rarely needed, or too broke financially to maintain coverage that has saved state residents from paying billions in hurricane damage claims. In the parlance of the insurance business, without coverage or a hedge against their expensive risks, they are “running naked.”

Three storms pop up in 24 hours

Published on: August 17, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

In something around 24 hours, 3 tropical storms have popped up according to the National Weather Service. While two (Ana and Bill) are still off into the Atlantic, Claudette hit Florida late last night.

Now is as good a time as any to prepare for any future storms that may come. You can check out our section on various storm and hurricane preparedness tips, available here, and make sure that your home preparation checklist is complete before the height of storm season gets here.

FAU to teach classes on Chinese drywall removal

Published on: August 15, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

In brief, from the Palm Beach Post:

Florida Atlantic University’s School of Architecture plans to begin offering training classes for workers and supervisors who are going to be removing Chinese drywall from homes.

According to a flyer by the school, two courses – a one-day worker safety awareness class, and a supplemental two-day supervisor and worker safety awareness training – are currently being developed.

Storm preparation discounts in Florida may soon disappear

Published on: August 14, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

A quick blog posts for those residents of Florida who have been enjoying state-enabled discounts for storm-preparedness: get them while you can as they might not be around much longer.

“What we’re giving them now is not right,” Apopka State Representative Bryan Nelson (R) said.

Nelson is both a lawmaker and an insurance agent. He said those discounts need to be cut so inland homeowners can stop subsidizing premiums for coastal homeowners.

Investigation shifts to China in faulty drywall investigation

Published on: August 13, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The Wall Street Journal reports that government officials will be visiting China to investigate drywall manufacturing sites to better understand the problem occurring in homes across the United States. The report states

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission officials have received approval to visit several sites in China later this month to investigate problems with imported drywall that was manufactured there, the agency said today.

Agency officials also have started indoor air sampling in 50 homes and visited a synthetic drywall manufacturing plant in Florida as part of their investigation, the agency said in a status update report posted on its Web site. Chinese officials earlier accompanied U.S. officials in visits to some affected homes in Florida and Louisiana.

Chinese drywall litigation fast-tracked, trials by end of the year

Published on: August 12, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

It looks like the MDL proceedings dealing with Chinese drywall will be moving along quite quickly, or is at least planned to be according to the judge in charge. Meeting with attorneys, with attorney Jeffrey Berniard in attendance, Judge Fallon notified both sides that the litigation would be moving forward and that he hoped to even have cases beginning just after the new year.

The Herald Tribune reports

Judge Eldon E. Fallon, who plans to begin “bellwether” trials in January, told both sides during a status conference in New Orleans on Tuesday that he expected discovery to begin in a few weeks.

State Farm prices to rise by almost 30 percent in Florida

Published on: August 11, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

Reported late last week, State Farm Florida is looking to shore up its finances and reduce discounts for customers… at the expense of those very customers. The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports

Trying to shore up its finances, State Farm Florida will eliminate or reduce some insurance discounts it offers to homeowners — leading to an average premium increase of 28.4 percent.

The move, which comes as State Farm prepares to pull out of Florida’s property-insurance market, will have widely varying effects on policyholders because they qualify for different levels of discounts.

Evictions begin over Chinese drywall contamination

Published on: August 10, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

Perhaps one of the saddest recent stories coming out of the Chinese drywall disaster is the following, where the poor and elderly have been kicked out of their homes as a result of the buildings being built with the faulty wallboard. The News Inferno reports

Dozens of low-income elderly people are being evicted from a Florida apartment complex because of Chinese drywall and mold. According to naplesnews.com, the 33 residents have been given until the end of this month to leave the 30-unit Bromelia Place apartment building in Immokalee.

Many of the residents have been complaining of respiratory ailments. Other problems reported may be related to potentially-defective Chinese drywall, naplesnews.com said. The complex was only opened in 2007.

Wall St Journal does feature on Chinese drywall ‘prison’

Published on: August 8, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

Beginning with the unfortunately typical story of a family looking for a new home to raise their family, the Wall Street Journal’s poignant piece on the uphill battle faced by families dealing with Chinese drywall brings more attention to the unfortunate situation. The piece opens

Shortly after buying their home in Cape Coral, Fla., in 2006, Keith and Denise Cramer noticed a peculiar acidic smell they thought was wet paint. The odor never left.

There were other strange occurrences. Chrome-plated faucets and showerheads became pitted or turned black. The central air-conditioning unit faltered and failed. Their baby son, Gavin, suffered frequent ear and upper respiratory infections, and Gavin and Denise got rashes.

Reminder: Louisiana sales tax holiday today and tomorrow

Published on: August 7, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

Just a reminder to Louisiana residents that Friday and Saturday are sales tax holidays, where “eligible items will be exempt from the state’s 4 percent sales tax, though parish and municipal taxes will still apply.” The Daily Advertiser reports

Because the savings are greatest on big-ticket items, furniture and electronics retailers tend to promote the holiday the heaviest, often tacking on their own specials as an added incentive.

Elliott said that when the program started, she and some retailers were doubtful that a 4 percent savings would attract buyers, but it did.