The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that insurance policyholders may recover losses for “diminution in value” in addition to the repair costs associated with damages to real estate property.
The court ruled in Royal Capital Development LLC v. Maryland Casualty Co., that a 2001 Georgia Supreme Court decision, which allowed coverage for the cost of repair plus diminution in value under automobile policies, should also be applied to claims for damage to real property, including damage to commercial buildings.
The court said the ruling would place “injured parties, as nearly as possible, in the same position they would have been in if the [property damage] had never occurred.” Under the ruling, insurers now must pay for damage repairs to a home or business and also for the diminished value of the property.
As a result of the decision, insurers that insure property risks in Georgia and wish to exclude “diminution in value” would have to include the exclusionary language in their policy wordings.
The Court rejected a 2007 Georgia Court of Appeals decision holding that allowing damages for diminution in value as well as for the costs of repair would be an impermissible “double recovery.” Maryland Casualty has filed a motion asking the court to reconsider its opinion.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Richard Bouhan Recognized in National Underwriter's Living Legends Series
Richard Bouhan, former NAPSLO Executive Director, was recognized as one of the insurance industry's Top 10 Living Legends by the National Underwriter in their June 25 Property & Casualty issue.
The magazine selected the industry’s Top 25 Living Legends and the Top 10 were featured in the magazine. The full list of Top 25 Living Legends were profiled online. The magazines said the selected individuals were "people whose accomplishments will be remembered for a long, long time" and that "their contributions to P&C insurance have been epic, monumental—and are sure to be discussed and studied for decades to come. Each profiled visionary has fundamentally changed the way insurance is done, likely forever."
Mr. Bouhan, who is continuing his work as Counsel on Special Projects for NAPSLO, has been with NAPSLO for more than 30 years, joining the Association as Government Relations Director and later serving as Executive Director from 1987 to 2011.
Mr. Bouhan joined Edmund Kelly, Jack Byrne, Richard Scruggs, Karen Clark, Barney Frank, Pat Ryan, Brian Duperreault, Peter Lewis, and Hank Greenberg in the Top 10. Other major E&S industry representatives in the Top 25 included William R. Berkley, Peter Levene, and Alan J. Kaufman.
The magazine selected the industry’s Top 25 Living Legends and the Top 10 were featured in the magazine. The full list of Top 25 Living Legends were profiled online. The magazines said the selected individuals were "people whose accomplishments will be remembered for a long, long time" and that "their contributions to P&C insurance have been epic, monumental—and are sure to be discussed and studied for decades to come. Each profiled visionary has fundamentally changed the way insurance is done, likely forever."
Mr. Bouhan, who is continuing his work as Counsel on Special Projects for NAPSLO, has been with NAPSLO for more than 30 years, joining the Association as Government Relations Director and later serving as Executive Director from 1987 to 2011.
Mr. Bouhan joined Edmund Kelly, Jack Byrne, Richard Scruggs, Karen Clark, Barney Frank, Pat Ryan, Brian Duperreault, Peter Lewis, and Hank Greenberg in the Top 10. Other major E&S industry representatives in the Top 25 included William R. Berkley, Peter Levene, and Alan J. Kaufman.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Hawaii Withdraws from NIMA
The NIMA Surplus Lines Clearinghouse today announced that Hawaii submitted a notice of withdrawal from NIMA on June 7, 2012. On June 12th, the NIMA states approved the following resolution:
“Policies effective during the time in which a state is a NIMA Participating State (including the 60-day withdrawal period from NIMA) will be filed with the Clearinghouse through the end of the withdrawal period. However, Participating States which tender notice of withdrawal prior to the date of the Clearinghouse implementation will not participate in the Clearinghouse tax filing or tax allocation.”
As a result, Hawaii will not be considered a NIMA participating state for the purposes of filing and allocating taxes for new and renewal policies effective on or after July 1, 2012 where the Home State of the insured is a NIMA participating state. Remaining NIMA jurisdictions include Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Please make sure to check out our recent E-News updates regarding recent NIMA developments. They can be found at http://www.napslo.org/imispublic/Content/NavigationMenu/News/ENews/2012/default.htm.
“Policies effective during the time in which a state is a NIMA Participating State (including the 60-day withdrawal period from NIMA) will be filed with the Clearinghouse through the end of the withdrawal period. However, Participating States which tender notice of withdrawal prior to the date of the Clearinghouse implementation will not participate in the Clearinghouse tax filing or tax allocation.”
As a result, Hawaii will not be considered a NIMA participating state for the purposes of filing and allocating taxes for new and renewal policies effective on or after July 1, 2012 where the Home State of the insured is a NIMA participating state. Remaining NIMA jurisdictions include Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Please make sure to check out our recent E-News updates regarding recent NIMA developments. They can be found at http://www.napslo.org/imispublic/Content/NavigationMenu/News/ENews/2012/default.htm.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Convention Registration Opens on June 6!
Registration for the NAPSLO Annual Convention, set for October 8-11 in Atlanta, opens on Wednesday and members can register on-line using their NAPSLO Member ID.
Convention registration fees are $825 for delegates and $395 for spouses until September 4. After September 4 fees will increase to $925 and $425. Representatives of member firms may register on-line for the convention or download registration forms from the convention site.
The convention will take place at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis & Marina and the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, with the Opening Reception at the Hyatt and all other NAPSLO programs at the Marriott. Hotel rooms will be available at both hotels.
The convention opens on Monday, October 8. However, to assist delegates with Monday morning meetings, NAPSLO will offer early packet pickup from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 7.
The featured program of the convention will be an address by Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor, on Wednesday, October 10. Gov. Bush was selected to give the E.G. Lassiter Lecture Series, presented by the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation.
Other programs include a Happy Hour in the Brokers’ Lounge from 3:00-4:00 p.m. on Monday, followed by the Opening Reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
NAPSLO’s Next Generation group will host a panel discussion on Tuesday from 3:00-4:00 p.m. regarding lessons from a hard market, followed by a cocktail reception from 4:00-5:30 p.m. The Next Generation is also hosting workshops on Monday on “Managing Change: Selling Strategies for a Transitioning Market.”
The traditional awards and recognition programs and the Association's Annual Business Meeting will take place on Wednesday morning.
Convention registration fees are $825 for delegates and $395 for spouses until September 4. After September 4 fees will increase to $925 and $425. Representatives of member firms may register on-line for the convention or download registration forms from the convention site.
The convention will take place at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis & Marina and the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, with the Opening Reception at the Hyatt and all other NAPSLO programs at the Marriott. Hotel rooms will be available at both hotels.
The convention opens on Monday, October 8. However, to assist delegates with Monday morning meetings, NAPSLO will offer early packet pickup from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 7.
The featured program of the convention will be an address by Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor, on Wednesday, October 10. Gov. Bush was selected to give the E.G. Lassiter Lecture Series, presented by the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation.
Other programs include a Happy Hour in the Brokers’ Lounge from 3:00-4:00 p.m. on Monday, followed by the Opening Reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
NAPSLO’s Next Generation group will host a panel discussion on Tuesday from 3:00-4:00 p.m. regarding lessons from a hard market, followed by a cocktail reception from 4:00-5:30 p.m. The Next Generation is also hosting workshops on Monday on “Managing Change: Selling Strategies for a Transitioning Market.”
The traditional awards and recognition programs and the Association's Annual Business Meeting will take place on Wednesday morning.
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