NU Online News Service, May 19, 11:12 a.m. EDT--Four Florida homeowners have filed prospective class action lawsuits against three insurance companies over claims made in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.
Two of the complaints were filed against Allstate, with the other two naming USF&G Specialty Insurance Co. and State Farm. In their complaints, filed by attorneys in Escambria and Santa Rosa counties, the homeowners are seeking to be paid the full value of their insurance policies to replace homes that were destroyed completely by the storm.
"The plaintiffs simply are asking that the insurance companies follow the law," said attorney Samuel Bearman. "They're not asking for anything extreme or outrageous-- just what the law says they're entitled to.
Unfortunately, many other Florida residents are in the same boat. That's why we've filed
these suits as class actions."
A spokesperson for Allstate, Deb Clouser, said the company would not comment on the lawsuits.
Current Florida law requires an insurer to pay the full amount of a policy in the event of a total loss.
As a result of a decision issued by the Florida Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal last year in the case of Mierzwa v. Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association, an insurer can be required to pay the full policy amount even if the total loss was due only partially to windstorm damages.
As an example, an insurer could be required to pay full policy value for a home that was damaged by hurricane winds and also by flooding, which would only be covered by federal flood insurance.
The state legislature included a "Mierzwa fix" in recently passed hurricane insurance reform legislation that would require insurers to pay for only covered losses. Governor Jeb Bush has said that he intends to sign the bill, known as Senate Bill 1486.
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