Friday, August 30, 2019

Governor Extends State Emergency in Florida in Advance of Hurricane Dorian

On August 29, 2019, Governor Rick DeSantis issued Executive Order number 19-190 that extended the state of emergency in Florida to cover every county in the state. Hurricane Dorian is now predicted to be a Category 4 hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida sometime this weekend. If that prediction is accurate, it would be the most powerful hurricane to strike the East Coast of Florida since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Early predictions paint a potential insurance exposure that could approach $145 Billion. As with Hurricane Michael which struck the panhandle of Florida in October of 2018, our previous discussions related to business interruption and concurrent causation in Florida may be relevant to claims that arise from Hurricane Dorian.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Hurricane Dorian Approaches Florida

Hurricane Dorian is now predicted to strike Florida’s East Coast as a possible Category 3 hurricane. On August 28, 2019, Governor Rick DeSantis issued Executive Order number 19-189 declaring a state of emergency in a number of counties along the east coast. Attached is a checklist that provides some information for carriers that may be facing claims in Florida from Dorian.

Posted by William Zieden-Weber and Christine Renella

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

New Florida Case Alert: Retained Public Adjuster Was Not “Disinterested” Appraiser

First-party property policies typically include appraisal provisions requiring each party to appoint a “disinterested” or “impartial” appraiser. A Florida appellate court recently addressed the question of what makes a potential appraiser “disinterested” in a case involving a Hurricane Irma claim.