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Coverage Counsel - 5 new articles
Can I Recover the Amount My Auto Loan Balance Exceeds My Car's Fair Market Value from the Person Who Totaled My Car?Your insured negligently totals the claimant's auto. What's the measure of plaintiff's damages in New York? “Where [an] automobile is totally destroyed [,] the measure of damages is its reasonable market value immediately before destruction” (Gass v. Agate Ice Cream, Inc., 264 N.Y. 141, 144 [1934]; see also Aurnou v. Craig, 184 A.D.2d 1048, 1049 [4th Dept.1992]; Babbitt v. Maraia, 157 A.D.2d 691 [2nd Dept. 1990]; Owens v. State of New York, 96 A.D.2d 630, 631 [3rd Dept. 1983]; Senatore v. Wellington, 47 Misc.3d 145[A], 2015 N.Y. Slip Op 50700 [U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2015]). What if the claimant's auto was overfinanced (i.e., the loan payoff exceeds its fair market value)? Can the claimant recover the difference between the loan payoff amount and the vehicle's pre-loss FMV? No. Not under New York law, even in small claims court where the standard is substantial justice between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law. See:
When an Ambiguous Policy Provision Does Not Necessary Mean a Loss in the Win/Loss ColumnsLIFE INSURANCE – POLICY INTERPRETATION – AMBIGUITY – GENERAL BUSINESS LAW § 349 – PUNITIVE DAMAGES Hobish v. Axa Equitable Life Ins. Co.(NY App. Div., 1st Dept., 05/25/2023) Although this is a life insurance, rather than a property/casualty insurance, case, there are several important #insurance coverage/policy interpretation points at work in this decision:
New York Insurance Law § 3421 Version 2.0 -- Liability Insurance for Specific Breed Dog-Owning HomeownersOn January 28, 2022, New York Insurance Law § 3421 was signed into law, mandating that for all New York homeowners policies "issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on or after" April 28, 2022, "no insurer shall refuse to issue or renew, cancel, or charge or impose an increased premium or rate for such policy or contract based solely upon harboring or owning any dog of a specific breed or mixture of breeds." As I said then in this post, the new law mentioned only underwriting functions, not claims functions, and there was nothing in the new statute expressly prohibiting insurers from including a canine exclusion in a New York homeowners policy or in denying coverage based on such an exclusion. Someone in Albany caught that, and on March 15, 2023 New York Insurance Law § 3421 2.0 was signed into law, amending subdivision 1 of that section to provide that "no insurer shall refuse to issue or renew, cancel, or charge or impose an increased premium or rate for such policy or contract, OR EXCLUDE, LIMIT, RESTRICT, OR REDUCE COVERAGE UNDER SUCH POLICY OR CONTRACT based solely upon harboring or owning any dog of a specific breed or mixture of breeds." [Added language in...
Are You Using the WayBackMachine (Archive.Org)? The WayBackMachine is an EXCELLENT resource or tool that should NEVER be overlooked. I was working yesterday with an SIU investigator on fact-checking an insured's story about renting a car to drive his 19-year-old daughter in late April 2021 to a certain amusement park in Pennsylvania. And a thought occurred: Was that amusement park even open in April 2021? On the dates of the rental? A simple Google search returned the park's April 2023 calendar of days/hours open, and copying that page's URL and pasting it into the WayBackMachine uncovered from the Internet Archive snapshots of the park's April 2021 calendar which proved (or will prove) that the insured prevaricated. The park wasn't open on the dates the insured rented the vehicle. #weneedtohaveachat What Does ChatGPT-4 Know About If/When the Earth Movement Exclusion Applies to a Excavation-Caused Loss in New York?
Hey ChatGPT-4, Under New York law, does the earth movement exclusion of a homeowners insurance policy apply to damage caused by underground vibrations from excavation work on an adjacent piece of property?  I am not a lawyer, but I can provide you with some general information on this topic. Under New York law, the earth movement exclusion in a homeowner's insurance policy typically refers to damage caused by natural events like earthquakes, landslides, or soil settlement. However, the specific language of the exclusion in the policy may vary between insurance companies and individual policies. In the case of damage caused by underground vibrations from excavation and construction work on an adjacent piece of property, the earth movement exclusion may or may not apply, depending on the specific language of the policy. If the policy language is broad enough to include man-made causes of earth movement, it may potentially exclude coverage for such damage. However, even if the earth movement exclusion applies, the homeowner might still have other avenues for seeking compensation for the damage, such as pursuing a claim against the construction company or the owner of the...
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