The Policyholder’s Perspective from Brandon McWherter
The Insurance Company’s Perspective from Parks T. Chastain

Tennessee insurance lawyer

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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 says:
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As many victims of the East Tennessee wildfires are working through the claim process, this seems to be a good time for a quick word about soot testing.  Smoke and soot from the wildfires likely affected hundreds of property owners whose properties were never touched by an actual flame.  Even with no actual fire damage,…

Several years ago I discussed a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals case where the court determined that general contractor’s Overhead and Profit were recoverable if the insured would “reasonably be expected to hire a contractor to repair its property”  See Parkway Assoc., LLC v. Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co., 129 Fed. Appx. 955 (6th Cir.…

Most water damage is covered in a typical homeowner’s policy. However, this coverage may only extend to the structure, and not the personal property, depending on the policy language. This is because many homeowner’s policies cover all forms of direct physical loss – subject to certain exclusions. Conversely, personal property may be covered by only…

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you (or someone you represent) has been requested to submit to an examination under oath by your insurance company’s attorney.  This process can be intimidating and confusing.  I field a lot of questions from insureds, public insurance adjusters, and attorneys about examinations under oath (“EUOs”).  As a general…

In the past, I’ve posted a few articles regarding the recent trend of insurers to attempt to deny hail damage claims on the basis that the damage is “cosmetic” rather than “functional.”  Most commonly, the issue arises when there are hail dents to a metal roof and the insurance company denies the claim on the…