Most homeowners insurance provides what's known as "replacement cost" coverage. Replacement cost coverage varies from policy to policy, but generally provides that the insurance company will pay to repair or replace damaged portions of the home with materials of the same or similar quality that existed before the loss. This coverage basically provides the insurer …
Most homeowner's insurance policies include coverage protecting the policyholders from certain kinds of lawsuits. For example, many policies provide that, if the policyholder gets sued for "personal injury" claims, the insurance company will pay for lawyers to defend the policyholder in court. This liability coverage is an important part of most homeowners insurance policies. Determining …
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing many types of insurance questions. Below is an FAQ on some insurance issues people may be dealing with during the pandemic. As always, it's important to keep in mind that the specific facts and insurance policy language will vary from case to case. An FAQ can't take the place of …
As we've often observed, insurance policy fine print matters. Insurers can only deny claims if the policy language excludes the claim from coverage. A recent decision from our local federal appeals court confirms insurers cannot re-write the policy after the fact to support denying coverage. On February 18, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, …
Following several weeks of storms and heavy flooding in Washington State, the state Insurance Commissioner released a list of tips for homeowners dealing with flood losses under their insurance policies. Flood insurance is challenging, so the Insurance Commissioner's advice should be helpful to policyholders affected by the flooding. The upshot is: Most homeowner's and renter's …
