Zalma on Insurance

Adjusting the Commercial Property Loss https://zalma.com/blog The adjustment of a commercial loss is performed in the same manner  as any other property loss. The difference is one of tone rather than  substance. Adjusters  who usually deal with a business entity, and its officers or employees,  rather than an individual find claims handling is often, but not  necessarily...

Ethical Behavior & Success as an Insurer See the full video here https://youtu.be/CeUtfqL4NI0 The first recognized statement of the covenant of good faith and fair  dealing was issued by Lord Mansfield in the British House of Lords in  1766 in Carter v. Boehm S.C. 1 Bl.593, 3 Burr 1906, 11th May  1766 provided that the reason for the rule “obliges parties to disclose  is to...

The Law of Unintended Consequences at https://zalma.com/blog Consider Prohibition: probably the most glaring historical example of unintended consequences. People didn’t stop drinking. They just found other ways to indulge, creating a criminal element that increased violent crime and made criminals out of businessmen, made criminals rich, and caused deaths from inexperienced makers of “bathtub gin...

What is Needed to Prove Construction Defects and Water Intrusion Structures, whether residential or commercial, are expected to be  watertight. The only water that should enter a structure is that which  serves domestic water needs for baths, sinks, toilets, washing machines,  dishwashers, and other water-using appliances. Damages from water intrusion can range from a simple cosmeti...

Structural Engineering is the science and art of designing and making, with economy and elegance, buildings, bridges, frameworks and other similar structures so that they can safely resist the forces to which they may be subjected. https://zalma.com/blog Structural engineering is a specialty within civil engineering. Civil engineers design highways, airports, train yards and terminals, wharves and...

October 1, 1979 – 2020 – Another Anniversary – Thank You Forty-one years ago today I left the world of the employed and became  an entrepreneur by opening my own law firm. The law practice was  incorporated shortly thereafter as Barry Zalma, Inc. When I opened for  business on October 1, 1979, I had no clients and no certainty that I  would have any in the future. I had borrowe...

Innocent Co-Insureds Go to https://zalma.com/blog When denying a claim for fraud, it is necessary to determine if there are any innocent co-insureds, and if so, whether the innocent co-insured is entitled to any indemnity.  The question whether arson by one coinsured spouse bars the innocent coinsured spouse from recovering under an insurance policy was one of first impression in Iowa [Vance...

Lost or Destroyed Policy of Insurance - https://zalma.com/blog  Insurance claims often arise long after the expiration of a policy that may still be required to provide defense and indemnity to the insured. The proof of such policies has created a new and unique profession called insurance archaeology. If damage first occurred many years after expiration or cancellation of a policy and the po...

Before an insurer is able to dispute or reject a claim presented by  its insured, it is required to thoroughly investigate the claim to prove  that the loss is one specifically excluded from coverage. The Supreme  Court of California explained the obligation of the insurer, noting that  while the task of “distinguishing fraudulent from legitimate claims may  occasionally b...

The book is designed to assist California insurance claims personnel,  claims professionals, independent insurance adjusters, special fraud investigators, private investigators who work for the  insurance industry, the management in the industry, the attorneys who  serve the industry, and all integral anti-fraud personnel working with  California admitted insurers who must comp...

https://zalma.com/blog The fortuity doctrine arises from the basic concept upon which insurance is founded: that insurance covers risks, not losses that were planned, intended, or anticipated by the insured. It has always been the view of insurers that losses that were expected by the insured could not be insured. To do so would have a counterproductive effect. No one would buy insurance until the...

Latent Defect at https://zalma.com/blog Cases that provide coverage despite an exclusion for latent defects fall generally within two categories. The court determines either that: the defect could have been discovered through appropriate testing and it is therefore not latent; or the loss resulted from a contributory covered risk. “A policy will define latent defect” as “a hidden flaw inherent in...

https://zalma.com/blog Most policyholders do not have the in-house capability to  investigate, evaluate, and negotiate significant property insurance  losses. While some losses, such as a small fire loss requiring only  minor repairs, may be dealt with easily, others, which involve more  complex damages and different potential causes of loss, are much harder  to assess. Re...

https://zalma.com/blog Trigger of Coverage The term “trigger of coverage” means “what event must occur for  potential coverage to commence under the terms of the insurance policy”  and “what must take place within the policy’s effective dates for the  potential of coverage to be ‘triggered.'” [In Re Feature Realty Litig.,  468 F. Supp.2d 1287, 1295, n.2 (E.D. Wash. 2006)] After...

https://zalma.com/blog Casualty Insurance Many people use the terms “casualty” and “liability” as if they were synonymous. However, casualty insurance includes insurance that does not fall within the definition of liability insurance. “Casualty insurance” is defined as an “agreement to indemnify against loss resulting from a broad group of causes such as legal liability, theft, accident, property...

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