A standard claims situation happening everywhere in the nation is when a policyholder calls for appraisal, and the insurance coverage firm refuses to partake within the course of. The insurers cite every kind of excuses, which generally embody the necessity for extra info, newly considered steps for investigation, potential protection points that can not be resolved, and on and on and on. “Hell no, we received’t go” is an outdated anti-war slogan the insurance coverage trade has adopted as its personal.
The Florida Supreme Court docket has now allowed trial judges to find out the order of appraisal and litigation with this current ruling:1
[W]e conclude that trial courts have discretion in figuring out the order during which protection and amount-of-loss points are resolved. American Coastal, although presenting a myriad of arguments, has not challenged the trial court docket’s train of that discretion based mostly on the info and circumstances distinctive to this case. Accordingly, we don’t take it upon ourselves to think about whether or not the trial court docket’s determination to defer decision of protection points till after appraisal was an abuse of discretion.
This ruling makes sensible sense. Certainly, whereas the appraisal course of is transferring alongside, the events can proceed to take discovery on the protection points. This hurries up the complete course of concerning the quantity of loss and protection decision. As they are saying, “justice delayed is justice denied.”
Thought For The Day
Justice that’s sluggish is just not justice.
—William Penn
1 American Coastal Ins. Co. v. San Marco Villas Apartment. Assoc., No. SC2021-0883 (Fla. Feb. 1, 2024).