John David Dickenson and Stacey Farrell presented a webinar series addressing Florida claims handling issues arising out of first and third party claims and litigation in June, 2015. Claims Handling in the Sunshine State Webinar: How to Avoid Getting Burned was a two part series that Insurance Journal covered in an article titled "The Ins and Outs of Bad Faith Claims in Florida."

Coverage, liability and damages analyses are the three common themes of Florida third party bad faith cases. According to John David Dickenson, bad faith is something more than negligence but less than intentional conduct. He explained that sometimes a case ruling will find a carrier’s claims decision wrong but find no evidence of bad faith. Stacey Farrell, said that the policy appraisal clause is enforceable in Florida. The scope is to address the issue and amount of damages and not to address coverage issues. Farrell recommended getting coverage issues resolved before invoking the appraisal clause because an appraisal may waive an insurer’s coverage defenses.

To read the full article, click here.