I draw your attention to the June 25 Tennessee Court of Appeals decision in the case of Dutton v. Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company which addressed the question of whether misrepresentations made on an initial policy application which unquestionably increased the risk of loss would still operate to void that coverage when multiple renewals of coverage had taken place. Dutton v TN Farmers. The applicants unquestionably made misrepresentations on the policy application which were…

In the case of Jefferson County Schools v. Tennessee Risk Management Trust, et al., No. E2017-01346-COA-R3-CV (decided March 15, 2018) (Jefferson County Schools v. TN Risk Management), the Tennessee Court of Appeals addressed the question of whether a Fire Marshal’s directive qualified as an “ordinance or law” for purposes of insurance coverage. Following a major rainstorm, a building at the Jefferson County High School collapsed.…

Not so fast Mr. Adjuster, my assignment of claim is valid even if the insurance policy says its not.…

We don’t usually post liability related matters on this blog, but every once and a while there is a ruling that warrants mention.  That ruling was issued today by the Tennessee Supreme Court in Dedmon v. Steelman W2015-01462-SC-R11-CV (click on case for full copy of opinion).  While I may disagree with the result, it is an extremely well written opinion from Judge Kirby.  The bottom line is that the Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously held Tennessee…

This past Friday (Aug. 4, 2017), Mississippi’s Insurance Commissioner, Mike Chaney, issued a bulletin that alerts insurers that they should not be depreciating labor in Mississippi unless policy language clearly allows it, and even then, estimates must clearly delineate that labor was depreciated.  I’ve quoted the bulletin below:…

Parks recently posted about the new Rules adopted by the Tennessee Commissioner of Insurance that go into effect on October 9, 2017.  The first of those rules makes clear the purpose “is to set forth minimum standards for the investigation and disposition of claims.”  (Rule 0780-01-05-.01).  While there are plenty of items worthy of discussion in the Commissioner’s soon-to-be effective Rules, the one that stood out to me  relates to “matching.”  Here’s what the Rule…

I’ve just posted the new regulations promulgated by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance governing the investigation and disposition of claims arising under certain types of insurance issued to residents in Tennessee.  We’ve attended the hearings that were held on these regulations, and followed the rulemaking process.  Regulation 0780-01-05-.010, entitled Standards for Prompt, Fair and Equitable Settlements Applicable to Fire and Extended Coverage Type Policies with Replacement Cost Coverage, contains two provisions which may expand…