Boca Ratón, Florida, EE.UU. – Yesterday, a Palm Beach County Jury sided with our clients and awarded from their insurance company, Universal Property & Casualty Insurance (“Universal”), the full amount they spent to repair their home.

In 2020, our clients submitted a claim for a roof leak that was discovered when their grandson was checking in on them. Universal agreed to cover the interior damages but wholly denied coverage for the roof for wear and tear and deterioration forcing our elderly clients to pay out of pocket for a new roof to protect their property from further damage. Left with no other option, Kanner & Pintaluga’s Property Damage Team filed suit on their behalf to recoup the cost of the roof. After suit was filed, Universal asserted additional defenses alleging that our clients did not submit a “timely” sworn proof of loss despite the fact their denial of coverage occurred prior to the sworn proof of loss being due.

After a year of litigation with the insurance company, Kanner & Pintaluga attorneys Jeff Groover y Ardalan Montazer tried the case before a six-member jury. Following a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in about 20 minutes finding the loss occurred during the policy period, found against the insurance company on all of its defenses, and awarded our clients the full amount of damages sought.

“There has been a lot of buzz lately by insurance companies that fraudulent property claims are the root cause for property insurance rate increases in Florida,” said Kanner & Pintaluga Attorney, Ardalan Montazer.” This case goes against that narrative and is a perfect example of an insurance company that denied a legitimate claim and then over litigated it costing them thousands more in legal costs.”

This verdict comes on the heels of Gov. DeSantis calling for a May 2022 Florida Legislative Special Session to address the state’s property insurance system which has recently led to huge rate increases and loss of coverage for some homeowners. Legislators were unable to pass any reform efforts on the issue during their regular session earlier this year. For example, the Florida Senate proposed allowing new deductibles of up to 2% on roof damage claims due to complaints by insurers that questionable, if not fraudulent, roof claims are driving up costs. But the House rejected the idea, which would have led to increased out-of-pocket costs for homeowners who need to replace damaged roofs. Critics of the reform, including homeowners who have suffered legitimate losses, assert that many of the insurance companies are looking only at their bottom line and lining the pockets of their executives by denying perfectly legitimate claims. When homeowners fight back and the insurance companies are faced with extra legal costs incurred by poor risk management, they unfairly pass the costs on to policyholders through rate increases.

el caso es Edward Navlen and Saunee Navlen v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Case No.: 502021CA003962XXXXMB in the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit, Palm Beach County, Florida.

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Kanner & Pintaluga es una firma demandante nacional agresiva, ética y orientada a resultados comprometida a representar a víctimas de accidentes, lesiones graves y daños a la propiedad. Con un equipo de casi 100 abogados, tenemos la experiencia y los conocimientos para lograr el resultado más favorable para nuestros clientes. Si podemos ayudarlo o si simplemente desea hablar con un abogado para obtener la ayuda que necesita, no dude en contactarnos. Nuestro equipo siempre está disponible para discutir sus derechos y asegurarse de que usted y su familia estén protegidos.