Claims News Service, Feb. 28, 8:49 a.m. EST — The Hurricane Law Group, a law firm dedicated to legal matters involving hurricanes and natural disasters, recently filed three requests for class-action lawsuits against Allstate Floridian, Citizens Property Insurance, and State Farm, alleging that the three insurance companies breached their homeowners' insurance contracts by not paying for building permits related to damaged or replaced roofs.
According to the suits, which were filed on Monday in the Florida counties of Hendry, Miami-Dade, and Broward, the three companies all used similar HO-3 “all perils” forms from the Insurance Services Office for their homeowners' policies. As part of these forms, there is specific language that details how non-excluded events and expenses would be covered by the insurance companies. The Hurricane Law Group alleges that the expenses incurred by homeowners to obtain the building permits should have been included as part of coverage by the three insurers, but were not.
According to the Hurricane Law Group, any Allstate Floridian, Citizens, or State Farm homeowners' policyholder who made a claim for roof damage in the last five years could be affected by the lawsuit, including claims made for tornadoes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters. That could include up to 50,000 Allstate policyholders, 100,000 Citizens policyholders, and 50,000 State Farm policyholders.
“Simple roof repair or replacement is impossible in virtually all counties of Florida without a permit being issued to allow the replacement to occur,” said Guy Gilbert, attorney for the plaintiffs, in his complaint. “Inexplicably, [the] defendants, with knowledge of these provisions, prescribed simple roof repair or replacement for virtually all of its insureds without any payments for permits and related fees, and without any indication to the insured that permitting was covered under their insurance policy.
“[The] defendants' actions were negligent, reckless, and perhaps willful and wanton in light of its superior knowledge of the requirements under its own insurance policy, Florida law, and local permitting requirements,” continued Gilbert. “At best, [the companies'] actions are a breach of the insurance contract to all individuals with roof damage requiring a permit to effect repairs.”
State Farm spokesperson Phil Supple reserved comment until the company was able to review the suit, but said State Farm has paid billions in claims over the last several years in Florida and actively encourages its policyholders to contact them if they have any questions or concerns about coverage.
Allstate Floridian spokesperson Adam Shores declined to comment on case specifics, but echoed similar sentiments as State Farm, saying that the company is confident in the way they've handled claims in Florida.
Citizens declined to comment.
Interested in more legal news and in-depth articles? Head over to Claims' legal channel for more information.
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