Insurance Litigation

Insurance companies are in the business of making profits. While there is nothing wrong with making a profit, it should not be at the expense of the insurance companies’ policyholders.

Unfortunately, one way insurance companies achieve their profit goals is to hold on to their money for as long as possible by denying legitimate insurance claims of individuals and businesses. This is so, even though the individual or business has been paying insurance premiums for years.

A typical example in Florida is when the homeowner or a business owner suffers property damage due to a hurricane but the insurance company won’t pay the claim. When this occurs a lawsuit for breach of contract and/or a declaratory judgment is brought against the insurance company.

An insurance policy is a contract between the policyholder and the insurance company. When the insurance company won’t pay a legitimate claim that falls under the terms of the policy, it has breached the contract.

A declaratory judgment is an action where the policyholder is asking the court to “declare” his or her rights under the policy. Oftentimes there is an ambiguity in the wording of one or more provisions of the insurance policy that – depending on how one reads the provision(s) – may or may not provide coverage for a particular loss.

Other types of insurance coverage disputes that Tom handles are denial of health and disability insurance, professional liability insurance, and home health care insurance.