When I represented the carriers I would always advise against defending lawsuits on “late reporting” when the. carrier came to a claim determination. “Late reporting” is an exclusion in the policy, meaning, if you don’t report the claim timely, they can deny it for late reporting. Recently, The People’s Law Team PA Was in court defending against the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, which is a final dispositive motion the carrier proffers to win the case. The Judge said she was going to grant that motion before the hearing even started, and asked us to give one sentence in our defense to prevent that ruling. Our attorney clearly stated “ Your Honor, they made a claim determination.” And that one sentence defeated the carrier’s Summary Judgment. The carrier cannot claim that they were “prejudiced” by “late reporting” if they were able to make a claim determination because prejudice is a factor in that determination. Further, people are not expected to hop on their roofs after every storm. It is reasonable for people to report the claim as soon as they know that they have one, and that can present itself much later than the actual date the loss occurred. That is another prong to “late reporting” that the carriers use to deny claims, attacking people who aren’t aware of their damage until a professional advises them what’s going on with their homes or commercial property. That date can be much later than the actual date the damage occurred, and there is nothing wrong with that, but the carriers will use that against the property owners in Florida and try and call that “late reporting”.
At The People’s Law Team PA we understand the insurance policies like nobody else, because I helped write them.
