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Insurance Industry Insurance Litigation Flood Insurance

Cozen O'Connor

Court Addresses Whether Rainwater Accumulation on Roof Constituted “Surface Water”

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In Zurich American Insurance Company v. Medical Properties Trust, Inc., 2024 WL 3504060 (Mass. Jul. 23, 2024), the Supreme Court of Massachusetts held that the term “surface waters,” as used in a limitation contained in a...more

Cozen O'Connor

Florida Begins New Era with Major Property Insurance Reforms

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For the fourth time since 2019, the Florida Legislature has enacted property insurance reforms aimed towards stabilizing a beleaguered insurance market. The bill, S.B. 2-A, creates a reinsurance assistance program,...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

What! My Flood Policy Doesn’t Cover Flood Damage?! This, and Other Pitfalls of NFIP Flood Insurance Policies

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Congress created the National Flood Insurance Program (the "NFIP") to help make flood insurance more affordable in higher-risk areas. FEMA oversees the program and writes the terms of the Standard Flood Insurance Policy...more

Carlton Fields

Opening The Pandora’s Box Of Flood Policies, Or How Filing Suit Against Flood Insurers Can Effectively Reduce The Suit Limitations...

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When is an insurer’s “Rejection of Proof of Loss” letter for flood insurance damage, which states on its face that it “is not a denial of your claim,” nevertheless a written denial of claim? According to the Third Circuit in...more

Cozen O'Connor

Flood Exclusion Unambiguously Excludes Coverage For $49.5M In Hurricane Sandy Losses Caused By Storm Surge

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Cozen O’Connor attorneys Thomas McKay III, Richard Mackowsky, Charles Jesuit, and Melissa Brill recently secured summary judgment from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in favor of Great...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Supreme Court, and Anti-Concurrent Causation

Many commercial and residential property insurance claims arising from major hurricanes like Hurricane Harvey present damage caused by multiple causes of loss, some of which may be covered (e.g., wind) and some of which may...more

Maynard Nexsen

Fourth Circuit Upholds 1-year Statute of Limitations on Flood Insurance Claims

Maynard Nexsen on

In Woodson v. Allstate Insurance Co., the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently upheld a one-year statute of limitations in flood insurance claims. Briefly, Hurricane Irene flooded the home of...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

Suit Limitation Period In Standard Flood Insurance Policy Is Not Tolled By Filing In State Court: Hurricane Irene Claim Dismissed...

The terms and conditions of the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (“SFIP”) are specified by regulations promulgated under the National Flood Insurance Act (“NFIA”). One of the terms in the SFIP provides that the insured cannot...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

When is a Flood a “Flood”: East Coast Edition

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Last month, heavy rainstorms in California brought to the forefront the issue of what is a “flood” under California law, particularly in regard to rain and surface water. We noted a California court held “flood” in its plain...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

New Jersey Appellate Division Applies Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause to Bar Combined Flood/Sewer Backup Claim

Frequent readers of the blog will appreciate that disputes involving the application of anti-concurrent causation language in the context of claims for flood or water damage have appeared with some frequency in recent years....more

Robins Kaplan LLP

When it Rains it Floods: California Rainstorms and Flood Insurance

Robins Kaplan LLP on

Until very recently, the scarcity of water and the decline in oil prices in California prompted the joke that oil was being used as fracking fluid to get water out of the ground. In the last week, however, so much rain has...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

Hurricane Sandy, Flood, and Sewer Backup: New Jersey Federal Court Confirms Anti-Concurrent Causation Bars Insured’s Claim

As we have written about before on this blog, the water damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 gave rise to important questions concerning the applicability of so-called “anti-concurrent causation” clauses. Such was...more

Carlton Fields

State-law Based Claims Against Parties Other than the United States Seeking Damages Arising Out of the Procurement of Flood...

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Harris v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company, __ F.3d __, 2016 WL 4174381 (6th Cir. Aug. 8, 2016) - Case at a Glance - Plaintiffs purchased a home located in a federal flood zone, but they did not purchase...more

Cozen O'Connor

Can Disputes Related To Procurement Of Federal Flood Insurance Policies Be Litigated In State Court?

Cozen O'Connor on

It is well-established that claim processing and wrongful denial of coverage disputes involving federal flood insurance policies belong in federal court because they present substantial questions of federal law. The U.S....more

Carlton Fields

Postdiluvian Perils: Second Circuit Weighs Coverage For Losses Suffered After The Waters Recede

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As this blog has reported, exclusions and limits for flood coverage have generally held up against the tide of claims arising from Superstorm Sandy. Now that the water is gone, however, new losses have been discovered, and...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

A State Law Wolf in Federal Common Law Clothing: The Third Circuit Rejects Insured’s Attempt to Expand Causes of Action Under the...

Courts across the country (and particularly since Super Storm Sandy in 2012) have consistently held that, in litigation involving a dispute concerning the investigation, adjustment, or payment of a flood claim under the...more

Robinson+Cole Property Insurance Coverage...

New Jersey Federal Court Confirms Application of Anti-Concurrent Causation Language in Hurricane Sandy Lawsuit

Readers of this blog may note that we have previously discussed the topic of anti-concurrent causation clauses in various jurisdictions around the country. As a quick reminder, an anti-concurrent causation clause is that...more

Cozen O'Connor

New Jersey Panel: If a Flood Is Excluded, So Are the Unhealthy Water-Borne Substances that It Leaves Behind

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Last week, a unanimous panel of New Jersey’s intermediate level appellate court rejected policyholder arguments that even though flood was excluded, the proximate cause of their Superstorm Sandy loss was the non-excluded...more

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