Articles Posted in Insurance Law

I have blogged extensively on the constant tug-of-war between insurance companies and their insureds when it comes to claims handling. While insurers are relentless in demanding timely premium payments, their approach to claims is often summarized in two words: delay and deny. Insurance carriers have an arsenal of tools designed to execute this strategy. Examinations…

In our practice—focused on personal injury, medical negligence, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death—we routinely handle Medicare and health insurance liens. These entities often have statutory or contractual rights to be reimbursed from any settlement or judgment recovered from third parties, meaning those legally responsible for causing the harm. This article addresses a separate legal issue…

It is common for health and disability (lost wages) insurance carriers to pay benefits to their insureds who are injured due to someone else’s negligence. Many of these policies include reimbursement provisions allowing the insurer to recover payments from any personal injury settlement or judgment obtained by the insured. How Much Must Be Repaid? The…

Despite having many potential sources of payment for medical expenses in ride share-related crashes, Uber riders sometimes end up holding the bag. The most common payment sources are PIP, MedPay, health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and bodily injury liability insurance. With a few exceptions, every owner or registrant of a motor vehicle required to be registered…

Much has been written about the type of insurance coverage available to Uber passengers and other third parties for accidents caused by Uber drivers. Less has been written about the coverage available to Uber drivers and their passengers for injuries caused by third parties such as other drivers. Currently, we are handling a case for…

Everyone is familiar with the idiom, “Keep your eye on the ball.” What it means, quite simply, is to keep one’s attention focused on the matter at hand. Lawyers must remember this during intense situations. Last week we experienced just such an intense situation. In a case involving severe personal injuries sustained by our client,…

For the eighth year in a row, the Florida Legislature has considered but failed to make bodily injury (BI) insurance coverage mandatory for every owner or operator of a motor vehicle required to be registered in this state. The two bills proposed for this reason during the recently concluded legislative session failed to receive a…

Companies make billions of dollars leasing and renting their motor vehicles. You’d think they’d have some corresponding corporate responsibility to compensate individuals injured through no fault of their own by the negligent operation of their vehicles. They don’t. The Florida Legislature once believed they did. They may still feel this way, but its will has…

Florida liability insurance policies often provide coverage to many individuals, including those not named in the policy. For example, the standard Florida motor vehicle policy will insure vehicle owners and unlisted permissive users. This was the scenario in Contreras v. U.S. Sec. Ins. Co., 927 So.2d 16 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). Insurance companies are obligated…

Liability insurance carriers pursue every avenue to limit the amounts they must pay in damages to harmed parties. One avenue at their disposal is Florida Statute 768.76(1): In any action to which this part applies in which liability is admitted or is determined by the trier of fact and in which damages are awarded to…