Hurricane Irma News

Fla. ‘Anti-Technical’ Statute Bars Insurer from Denying Claim for Sunken Yacht

Travelers must pay a $2 million claim by the owner of a 92-foot-long yacht that was sunk by Hurricane Irma because Florida law does not allow insurers to deny claims based on inconsequential technicalities. A panel of the 11th Circuit …

11th Circuit Affirms Jury’s Middling Verdict in All-or-Nothing Hurricane Damage Case

Juries that are asked to resolve hurricane-damage disputes often hear widely varying damage estimates from expert witnesses. A decision by a federal appellate court on Monday demonstrates that once a jury decides on a number, insurers may need more than …

Clear Intent to Exclude Named Storms Not Enough to Deny Coverage

In 2015, the Shilo Christian Center in Melbourne, Florida cut its property insurance premiums in half by asking its insurer to drop coverage for named windstorms. Hurricane Matthew struck the next year, ripping the roof of the church and unleashing …

Judge Upholds Acquittal in 9 Hurricane Nursing Home Deaths

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A Florida judge rejected a prosecutor’s impassioned plea Monday, saying he would not reconsider his acquittal of a nursing home administrator in the overheating deaths of nine patients after Hurricane Irma knocked out the facility’s …

Nursing Home Chief Acquitted in Patients’ Hurricane Deaths

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A judge acquitted on Friday a Florida nursing home administrator accused of causing the overheating deaths of nine patients after Hurricane Irma in 2017, saying that his employees had provided care and prosecutors had not …

Fla. Supreme: Public Adjuster with Contingent Fee Agreement Cannot Act as Appraiser

A public adjuster cannot act as an appraiser for a homeowner they represent when the insurance policy specifies that the appraiser must be “disinterested,” the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The high court affirmed a 2nd District Court of Appeal …

Hurricane Deaths at Nursing Home: Accident or Manslaughter?

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida nursing home administrator charged with causing the overheating deaths of nine patients after Hurricane Irma in 2017 went on trial Monday, with a prosecutor calling him a “captain who abandoned ship” while his …

11th Circuit Affirms Condo Tower Hurricane Damage Award That Disappointed Both Sides

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict that found an insurer liable for $2.6 million in damages to a Miami condominium tower caused by Hurricane Irma, rejecting arguments made in appeals filed by parties on both sides …

PLRB Panelists: Arrive Early, Communicate and Document Costs for Complex Claims

The trail of destruction left by Hurricane Irma as it churned along the west coast of Florida in 2017 included a high-end resort hotel with an adjacent golf course, spa, entertainment center and numerous restaurants. The sheer size of the …

Rain, More Than Wind, Led to Massive Toppling of Trees in Hurricane Maria

A new study says that hurricanes Irma and Maria combined in 2017 to knock down a quarter of the biomass contained in Puerto Rico’s trees — and that massive rainfall, more than wind, was a previously unsuspected key factor. The …